Derek Hough and Mark Ballas didn’t set out to be change agents for Dancing with the Stars.
While helping Hough practice for his live tour this fall, Ballas ended up partnering with his longtime pal on a few routines while Hough’s wife Hayley Erbert filmed their performances and posted them on social media. The videos of the two partnering were such a hit with fans, Hough approached DWTS about incorporating their same-sex Argentine tango into the November 26 finale.
What resulted was a historic moment for the 19-year-old franchise: for the first time, two men performed hand-in-hand under the mirror ball. Hough and Ballas hope it won’t be a one-off for ABC’s long-running variety show.
“We wanted to soft launch the idea of two men dancing together on Dancing with the Stars, you know what I mean?” Hough tells Deadline. “It became sort of like an introduction, if you will, and left the door open a little bit for some future partnerships on the show.”
DWTS has always tried to be inclusive with its casting, but has stuck with heterosexual partnerships since its start on ABC in 2005 (aside from a fleeting moment in season 22 when Nyle DiMarco and Jodie Sweetin briefly switched partners during an Argentine tango, that is). Everything changed in season 30, when Jojo Siwa partnered with Jenna Johnson as the show’s first-same sex partnership. The duo came in second.
If anyone could influence ABC and BBC Studios to finally feature two men dancing, it’s Hough and Ballas — two influential members of the DWTS community who have served time on the judges’ dais. Hough also has six mirror ball trophies; Ballas has three.
“This hasn’t been done on the show before in 33 seasons, which is actually kind of crazy if you think about it,” says Hough of two men dancing together. “And we were like, you know what? It feels like one, it’s the right time.”
Mark Ballas, Derek Hough (Disney/Eric McCandless)
It helped that Hough and Ballas’ decision to perform on the telecast also provided a news-you-can-use moment for the show’s most ardent fans. Before their performance in the finale, the men explained how the Argentine tango began as a dance between working class men in 19th Century South America.
“Back in those days, the men far outnumbered the women so the Argentine tango was a way for the men to foster community but also to impress the ladies,” explained Hough in the DWTS finale.
Hough and Ballas took turns leading in the dance. “People often say the man is the leader and the female is the follower,” Hough tells Deadline. “The truth is when you’re dancing, you’re constantly switching between leader and follower no matter what gender. It doesn’t really matter. Even in this dance, with us being two males, we switched often.”
Ballas believes their performance on DWTS “hit harder” because they kept the focus on the footwork and the authenticity of the dance; there was no need for flashy, show-stopping moves during their 90-second performance. (It was Ballas’ idea to keep the pants of their double-breasted suits baggy to create movement and to make their frames that much more appealing to watch).
“We thought those kind of tricks of making it slick and fast and more about power and speed would be more effective than one of us throwing the other in the air and spinning around a few times, you know what I mean?” says Ballas.
It was enough just to avoid hurting one another with those constant leg locks. “That’s what I love so much about this style of dance. It also makes for accidents,” adds Hough. “If you’re not precise and your timing is incorrect, you’re going to get a foot to the shin or to the private part. It’s painful, so it’s important the timing is right and you’re both on the same page.”
Hough and Ballas’ tango partnership isn’t quite over yet; they will perform the routine again this Saturday during Hough’s show at Inglewood’s You Tube Theater. Their November 26 performance could also garner an Emmy nomination next year, which would give Hough his 14th in the choregraphy category. Ballas has one from 2011.
The ultimate prize, however, would be to evoke change on DWTS.
“It’s funny. I actually have a few friends who have been approached to be on the show and they’ve actually said, ‘well, I don’t want to do it until I can dance with another guy,” Hough tells Deadline. “We wanted to be able to introduce this concept in a way that if there’s anybody out there who might feel a certain way about it, we’re like, ‘hey, check this out.’ I think that it opens up a lot of opportunities and doors for the show to have that.”