Derek is apparently joining Mark and several others for a performance at the Covey Center in Salt Lake City, Utah on January 28th. From the Salt Lake Tribune:
The Covey Center for the Arts will present an evening with ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” celebrity dancer Mark Ballas, who is bringing other celebrity dancers to perform with him including other “Dancing with the Stars” professionals Derek Hough and Oksana Demtrenko.(Hough and his sister Julianne Hough are Utah natives.)
“So You Think You Can Dance” finalists Cyrus Spencer, Lindsey Arnold and Eliana Girard will also be joining the line-up.
The performance will be held at the Covey Center for the Arts in Provo on January 28 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $25 – $40 and are available through www.coveycenter.org or by calling 801-852-7012.
I confess that events like these frustrate me to no end, since I think Derek is capable of so much more and since we have NO clue what else he has going on. If we knew he had other exciting stuff lined up (which he probably does, but isn’t sharing), little stuff like supporting Mark would not bother me nearly as much. Come on, the man is the star of DWTS even in his detractor’s eyes and his talent extends far beyond doing a dance with Oksana while Mark plays guitar and sings.
As for what he’s doing with that little robot – wouldn’t you like to know more?? I sure would. I think @DWTSGossip was likely drawing logical conclusions on twitter, but I’ve seen no confirmation of that anywhere. And we may never know since the video she linked and the company creating it appears to be Japanese.
Yes, this is a plea for more information from Derek and his people. 
Come on, throw us a bone!
Thank you Scott for what you have said. My and I’m sure others thoughts as well. I just don’t get it either. I personally feel it is his management.
It is such a shame that he just can’t get the break he needs and deserves.
Love everything you said Scott and I agree with you. I hope Derek’s career will take off this year. He is to good to be backing up Mark.
Scott all I can say is THANK YOU, for every single word you have written. I wish Derek would read it and it hit home for him.
Heidi–Thank you so much for having the guts to say what has needed to be said for quite some time re: Derek Hough’s career, or, unfortunately, lack of one. Five years ago, I happened to be channel-surfing and inadvertedly landed on a show I had no interest in: “Dancing with the Stars”. I was about to dial on when, suddenly, this 22-year-old kid with a mop of blond hair burst on the scene with a galvanic energy, fantastic dancing and an irresistible smile I hadn’t seen in any performer since I was a highschool teenager some 50 years ago and another dazzling 22-year-old named Ann-Margret knocked me out of my seat in “Bye, Bye, Birdie” and “Viva Las Vegas”. (And, yes, I’m well aware that I’m dating myself but what the hell?!) I immediately searched the internet for some info on this amazing new talent. There wasn’t much, but I was hooked on “DWTS” simply to see what amazing numbers this dancer/choreographer would create and perform, and he did the impossible: he topped himself week after week, combining the astounding athleticism of Gene Kelly and the debonair brilliance of Fred Astaire in their prime. Having worked in the movie business most of my life as a film journalist and publicist, I knew it was only a matter of time before Derek Hough became a deserved superstar and I followed his career closely. When Paramount announced it was doing a remake of “Footloose”, I figured Mr. Hough was a shoo-in for the lead role, which had made a star out of Kevin Bacon (a good friend of mine at the time, but the director Herbert Ross had to fight the studio to cast Kevin; initially Paramount wanted Rob Lowe for the role!). I was shocked when Paramount passed on Hough in favor of some talent-free fellow whose name and face have been long-forgotten. Next, Sony announced a reboot of “Dirty Dancing” another project for which Derek seemed ideal casting (hell, he even had the endorsement of Jennifer Grey and Patric Swayze’s widow, among other notables). So what happened? Last year, the “brains” behind “Dirty Dancing” announced the project, which Derek tested for, had been postponed due to (in an outrageous insult to Hough) “casting problems”. It’s now been 5 years since I first saw the multi-talented Derek Hough (who, thanks to your video clips of his acclaimed performance in the London stage production of “Footloose”, revealed that he has a beautiful singing voice as well–is there ANYTHING he doesn’t excel at?). But he is still toiling away, more brilliantly than ever, in “DWTS”; the show itself has become tacky and virtually unwatchable were it not for the presence of Derek Hough, who is far too much a class act to be wasting his talents on such…well,,,crap! And now to read that he is starting off this New Year by doing a back-up act for his friend Mark, is discouraging, to put it mildly. As is the fate of “Cobu” which, despite the recent comments by its makers, was made 2 years ago and still remains in distribution limbo. I have no idea what the reasons are for Derek Hough’s career stagnation, but from my years of experience in dealing with young actors and actresses, I suspect that he just might be too much of a nice guy who wants to be all things to all people, at the expense of his personal and professional fulfillment (he completely won me over by adopting a beautiful unwanted dog, the sign of a truly warm, compassionate heart). I honestly don’t know who Derek’s advisors are: friends, agents, family, a “personal manager”, etc.? A truly talented individual is a rarity, especially nowadays. And Derek Hough is even more than that. I rarely use the word “genius” but having had the honor of working over the years with such gifted (and nice) people as Woody Allen, Joanne Woodward, director Marty Ritt, Diane Keaton and Jacqueline Bisset (and, no, I’m not name-dropping which I hate, simply trying to make a point), I wouldn’t hesitate to put Derek Hough in their esteemed company. It would indeed shock me to find out that Derek isn’t getting any decent offers (for movies, the Broadway stage, high-class premium cable-TV), but stranger things have happened in today’s entertainment world where hype seems to be all that counts while talent (or a lack of it) doesn’t seem to matter. So, for starters, I’d suggest that Derek Hough should fire his agent(s), hire a new one (who will fight his battles for him), force himself to do some serious “networking” (his sister’s “dating” Ryan Seacrest certainly hasn’t hurt her blossoming film career) and stop doing favors for so-called friends. I hope readers won’t take offense at anything I’ve written, or find my remarks cynical. I’m simply worried that Derek Hough isn’t getting the career breaks he deserves. Talents like his are a rarity. In 5 years of “DWTS”, he has provided countless millions with the uplifting brilliance of his superb dancing and choreography. It is high time he reaps the benefits of his generosity (I doubt that his salary is anywhere near what it should be) and finally receives the rewards he so richly deserves!
I agree with your comments Scott, and I too have been perplexed as to why someone with superstar talent,looks & personality like Derek has not hit it big yet. Even Julianne, whose wonderful talent as a dancer, is, imo, superior to her attempts at acting or singing, has had a few movies already and is on the cover of a major magazine (Cosmo). What gives? Does she have a better agent or publicist, or is Ryan behind it all? I really don’t get it. Maybe your suggestions to kick start his career are what need to happen. He mentions on twitter that he has some interesting projects in the works. All I know is that it is discouraging, as a fan, to want to see this guy reach superstardom where he belongs, but not to see any progress toward this end, for whatever reason.
No offense taken, Mr. MacDonough !! Everything you said…we said it too! Everything you are thinking ..we thought it also! …we are too waiting for that so well deserved break for him because he has all it takes and maybe more to make it in the industry. We are also tired of the “gigs” his agents find for him… we see him and his incredible talent..and we see that talent wasted…Why? That is our question…we can only think bad management…because it certainly is not lack of talent…That Derek has more than 85% of the Hollywood’s greatest. We are too waiting..and hoping that we will get a response this century…
Thank you for your very interesting comments Mr. MacDonough. First, I wholeheartedly agree with a lot of your analysis. Many of us are long time Derek fans and we keep waiting for his career to take that next step because we can’t believe that someone who possesses all that talent is not being sought after by Hollywood bigwigs… It’s impossible for him not to be noticed because DWTS is one of the highest rated shows on TV and Derek is the most successful and popular (IMO!) professional on the show! But there are a few things that I have talked about in private with some of my Derek friends that might contribute to his career slowly taking off: 1) He might be picky with his projects 2) He doesn’t sell/promote himself 3) He does “it” for the art 4) He has shitty management/agents … But my friend also told me that it’s a lot harder for men “to make it” in the entertainment world than women. It’s a lot easier for girls in the industry because there is always room for the next “It Girl”. For guys, it seems like you have to be a teen idol (which we all know that success can be fleeting for them) or be in one of those superhero franchises! haha!
However, we have no idea what’s in the pipeline for Derek. We know there’s “Cobu” eventually. FYI, as one of the people who manage the unofficial Cobu twitter acct for the movie, we’ve had private correspondence with people working on the movie and the director and the producers really care A LOT about this movie. It’s an independent movie and I have learned that means it will take a long time for it to be released…=P They really want this movie to be successful and are taking the time to plan a promotion strategy and find an ideal release date. Not to mention they had 3 rounds of screen testing and had reshoots to improve the movie. Anyways, there is Cobu… Then the projects that Julianne keeps talking about (live shows & a scripted dramatic movie), perhaps DD is still in the mix, then there is the music he keeps recording at Wyman Records. I remember reading Shirley’s FB either before or right after Xmas that there is some great stuff going on for both boys in 2013 & now Derek himself said there are some exciting projects to look forward to. So I am hoping for Derek… it’s more like a slow start and then BOOM!
As for why he is doing gigs for Mark or random gigs in general … Well, I can totally see why he would do stuff for Mark… he’s loyal. Random dance gigs… He loves to perform for a live audience. And tell me who wouldn’t love to get paid to party in Vegas?! I actually think that the mRobo gig was pretty cool in hindsight, but it was a let down because Sue Madore’s initial tweet was so vague. I was totally expecting something else…
Last thought… there are many stars and superstars in the entertainment industry today that took them a while to hit it big. I think we just have to be patient with derek and support him anyway we can and it WILL all eventually happen to him …I have no doubt that in due time Derek will be a big star and that he will get to showcase all of his talents!
This may sound mean, but i do have to say Derek is way to good for these events, not that i don’t want him to do them, I just think he should also be doing something big, can producers, directores wake up. Derek deserves so much more!
Another good montage of Shawnough. :p
Heidi if you go to his website today his daily derek pic is the pic of him and the robot…the caption underneath said he is teaching the robot choreography and it will be out in a year…insane. maybe the robot is coming to the US then? who knows…random tidbit.
Yeah, I saw that Joey, but it’s basically no information at all. Who’s he doing it for? What is it for? A commercial?? A video?? What??
Maybe he’s being cautious with what he accepts, if that were the case lord knows I wouldn’t blame him, for several reasons..
Oksana and her crazy hair, I wish it was Chelsie, she is from Utah and they could do the paso. But I get your frustation.
Heidi, you’re absolutely right. I totally agree that Derek is so much more capable of much larger events and stuff than this. While I love watching him dance, I know he has so many other talents that i’d love for him to show off. As far as that robot pic he tweeted, I don’t get it? Can someone clue me in? Thanks!