The 33-year-old dancer tells ET the 'Derek Hough: Live! The Tour' will be unlike anything he's ever done before, incorporating live musicians and a team of talented dancers.
Derek Hough is getting ready to head back out on the road... and this time, he's doing it solo!
ET spoke with the two-time Emmy Award-winning choreographer in New York City on Monday, where he got candid on his just-announced, first-ever solo tour, Derek Hough: Live! The Tour, which he announced on Monday after teasing the "big, exciting" news with ET last week.
"I'm so excited about this tour," Hough, who previously toured with his sister, Julianne, told us shortly after the news was announced. "One of the things I really wanted to incorporate with this tour, [is to] make it feel different."
"It's something I always wanted to do, was bring live musicians, to have live music onstage with the dancing and really infuse them together," he added. "So, you feel that energy, you feel that live-ness in the theater. Yeah, its very exciting. Sixty cities, going around every style of dance you could possibly think about, [with] amazing dancers, live musicians... it's going to be a great night."
He tells ET that this tour is going to feel a lot "different" from anything else he's ever done in the past.
"It's going to have a different vibe, a different energy, but still very very entertaining," he explained. "With the live music element to it -- for me, when I go to a concert, when I go to a show, just that kick drum... you can feel it in your chest. You hear that violin or that live music -- that live feeling, there's just something about it. You can feel it, and as a dancer, the music dictates so much. So, to have that in the show for me is so exciting, I just cant wait."
"I cant wait to do it and I just love going to cities and meeting people and performing," he added. "So, I'm just excited about it!"
In addition to the tour, settling into his new home and working on World of Dance, he is fully focused on a slew of other passion projects, like his World of Dance Master Class series.
"It's really great, it's really in-depth," he shared. "We really go through everything. We break everything down, so you don't have to be a dancer to watch it, you know? You learn a lot from it. But [it's also great] if you are a dancer, if you want to get some tips that are going to take your dance to the next level."
"We definitely cover the spectrum from beginner to professional," he added. "And there's something in there for everybody."
Later in our interview, he also opened up about his longtime relationship with Dancing With the Stars troupe dancer Hayley Erbert.
"She's really grounded," Hough, who celebrated his 33rd birthday last month with a trip to Big Sur, California, with Erbert, gushed. "She's really, really grounded -- just really down to earth, and just [has] a good heart and a beautiful soul."
Hough and Erbert first started dating in 2015, and have been seemingly inseparable ever since. Their love has clearly evolved into something special, but do the two have any plans to say "I do" anytime soon?
"You know, it's funny. Nobody ever asks me this," Hough joked. "Do I feel pressured getting married? No, you know what, I don't, actually. I'm building a house right now. I feel like I've been building it for 25 years now. It's taken a long time, so for me, I'm looking at things in stages, and for me, that's going to be the next stage."
"So, I can get settled, physically grounded, physically settled," he added. "And then who knows where life takes us."
ET also caught up with Hough last October, shortly after his sister tied the knot to Brooks Laich. At the time, he gushed over what it was like seeing his sibling so happy, and opened up about whether he was feeling pressured to propose to Erbert.
"Not at all, actually," he revealed. "[I grew] up in Utah, where it's very common for somebody to get married at 22 or 23. I'm well past that, so I've gone beyond what I actually grew up knowing."
"If anything, it's actually the opposite," he continued. "It's made me go, 'You know what? I've seen Julianne's love with Brooks' -- them together, seeing what they have -- and it makes me want to make sure. I want to marry once. I want to be with that person that I love dearly. I want to get to know that person. I feel like, if anything, it's something that I don't feel like should be rushed into doing at all."
Derek Hough: Live! The Tour kicks off April 5, 2019. As we patiently wait to hear more on that, read our full feature piece with Hough (HERE) and watch the video below for more on his adorable relationship with Erbert!
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