Choreographing a number in honor of Dancing With the Stars’ 20th anniversary was an order only Derek Hough could fill. Hough joined the ABC series as a professional dancer in 2007 before transitioning to host in 2020. The latest season of the reality competition series celebrated two decades on air with a birthday party-themed episode in which Hough was tasked with choreographing an opening number that would not only commemorate the show’s past but mark its future. 

“It was really important to [embody] this idea of passing the torch from the pros that really began this all to this new cast of dancers,” says Hough of the performance, which was introduced by the original dancers from the show’s first season: Edyta Sliwinska, Ashly DelGrosso, Louis van Amstel, Jonathan Roberts, Charlotte Jorgensen and Alec Mazo. 

The act was set to a remixed version of the show’s classic theme song, with varying sections performed in different dance styles. “The theme song is the one constant that’s been a throughline of all these seasons, so I thought, ‘Why don’t we dance to the theme song? But let’s mix it up and honor the different genres and styles that Dancing With the Stars showcases,’ ” Hough explains. 

Another nostalgic element of the performance saw former host Tom Bergeron make his return to the ballroom. “The very first thing that came to my mind was Tom Bergeron,” says Hough. “When I knew that he was coming back, I was like, ‘There has to be a moment within the number where there’s a reveal of him, and it needs to be the right setup to lead him into this moment.’ ”

That setup was a sequence choreographed and danced by Ezra Sosa and Rylee Arnold paying homage to the late Len Goodman, who served as a judge on DWTS from 2005 until 2022. A light shined directly onto Goodman’s empty seat as a series of paired ballroom dancers performed in white gowns and tuxedos to an instrumental version of Lady Gaga’s “Always Remember Us This Way.” 

“The way I described it was this moment where we’re thinking of Len and we’re thinking of this beautiful ballroom show, and then there’s this figure that walks through that’s backlit with smoke, and we’re not sure who it is, because we’re in our Len feelings, and then we see Tom,” Hough explains. “When I was told to do this piece, I really took it to heart. I wanted to hit those different moments that really honor the show and capture the essence of 20 years.”

With a record-breaking 34th season, number 35 will be another landmark for Dancing With the Stars. It’s unclear whether the upcoming installment will include another anniversary celebration, though Hough is admittedly “excited” about how plans are shaping up.

“We have a really good cast. There are some people that I know are waiting in the wings. I’ve been told some of the people that are going to be on the next season. It’s going to be a great one,” he teases. “We’re having this momentum from the past two seasons. The celebrities are so excited to be on the show, to dance, to compete, to really get the full experience, and that dynamic of a celebrity who is wanting [to win] and really embracing it, that’s what creates great seasons.” 

This story first appeared in a June stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.