Seacrest Studios at Levine Children’s Hospital welcomed Julianne and Derek Hough with open arms for an interview, games, and pictures with patients. 

The siblings, originally from Salt Lake City, Utah, told patients and staff about their childhood. At only 10 years old, the dynamic duo ventured to London to train in ballroom dancing. Both Julianne and Derek are triple threats meaning they can dance, sing, and act! 

The brother and sister duo are most known for joining Dancing with the Stars where they won a combined total of eight mirror ball trophies. Julianne is now the fourth permanent judge on the show while Derek recently began judging on a brand new show titled World of Dance.

While at the studio, the duo began their interview revealing their secret talents. Julianne showed us a 3-leaf clover with her tongue while Derek shared his secret ability to play many different instruments like the guitar and piano. When asked about what their proudest moments are, Julianne explained how proud she was about returning to the U.S. after going to London. She told us about her desire to have a normal high school experience as well as pursuing her dreams of acting, singing, and dancing. 

Family and friends are pivoting factors in Julianne and Derek’s life and career. Derek shared that his role models included friends, family, as well as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and his strong work ethic. Derek also mentioned he has always looked up to Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire for their innovative choreography and their passion for dance. Julianne’s role model is her oldest sister and her mother who juggled motherhood, being a flight attendant as well as a dance instructor. 

Derek told us that since he is the only boy out of six children, he always refers to his sisters as a “beautiful hurricane”. The talented duo was extremely approachable and interactive with the patients. Julianne played a game where she guessed the dance and song in Season 5 of Dancing with the Stars based only on her costume. She matched every single costume with the correct dance and song! The two also played freeze dance as they energetically danced with all the patients and even showed them some new dance moves. 

At the conclusion of the interview, Julianne and Derek left the patients with some words of advice. Derek encourage patients to “always follow your bliss” and to “find joy in the small things.” Julianne reiterated, “Love is the driving force” and told the patients, “you are always a force of nature.” 

We loved having the two here and hope they will come back to see us at Seacrest Studios Charlotte!