Derek Hough Reveals Which ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Dances He’s Most Proud Of

Before Derek Hough became a judge on Dancing With the Stars, he spent 17 seasons working as a pro dancer on the show. During his tenure, he took home six Mirrorball trophies and never finished in lower than sixth place.

Needless to say, he had an incredible run, but there’s one season that stands out quite a bit for Hough in terms of his choreography. For Season 18 in 2014, Hough was partnered with Paralympian Amy Purdy, and in addition to having to choreograph for a partner with two prosthetic legs, he was also dealing with an unheard of rehearsal schedule.

“I remember teaching her in Sochi, Russia,” Hough tells TV Insider. “I was teaching her a cha-cha in an unfinished hotel in Sochi, Russia, with brown water coming out of the sink. I’m in Sochi, teaching her a cha-cha in a gym that only had a mirror that was from the waist up, which was very difficult because I obviously couldn’t see in the mirror. And then in the afternoon, she would go compete [in the Paralympics].”

Adam Taylor/Disney

Season 18 of DWTS premiered on March 17, 2014, just three days after Purdy’s event at the Paralympics in Russia.

“[It was] insanity,” Hough recalls. “I was so proud of … we did a quickstep, actually, and it was when she put her blades on for the first time because before that she would have her prosthetic feet. [The blades] were such a revelation because she flew across the floor. It was amazing. It was one of those things where it was uncharted territory. We were doing something for the first time and really paving the way, and it was really special.”

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Hough says he’s proud of “every single routine” he choreographed that season because it was something he was truly creating for the first time. The show’s current season features another Paralympian, Ezra Frech, who is also missing a leg.

“Ezra actually said, ‘I remember watching Amy,’ and they are actually dear friends, ‘and being like … wow, I can do that. That’s actually an option.’ So to see him out there now, it’s incredible,” Hough shares.

Dancing With the Stars, Season 35, Tuesdays, 8/7c, ABC and Disney+