Dancing's Derek Hough: This Is the Craziest Week Yet!

Hey everyone!

Thanks for your votes!

How'd you like the show? I thought our Argentine tango went well. We had one little hiccup, but I don't think it affected the performance at all. Nastia showed that perfection isn't about perfection. It's just your commitment to something. It was such a beautiful tribute to her parents and the greatest moment of her career. It was such a moving night, as Most Memorable Year of Your Life Week always is. It was sad to see Michael leave after hearing his story and seeing his dance, but I think in some ways, it was good to leave on that note. There were such amazing stories that night, which is the best part of that theme.

The only thing I didn't like about the show was going first! Ha. I always hate going first, but everyone does at some point. There's no getting out of that rotation. With the way the show is structured now -- calling people safe or in jeopardy throughout the night and then having them perform -- it keeps you on your toes since you don't know the exact dancing order like we used to with two shows. I actually like not having the second show day. I miss the Macy's performances because it's a chance to get creative with routines and feature some great dancers and stories, but I like having the extra day to travel and work. I think most of us do too. That extra day is really helpful when it gets down to the wire and you have multiple dances.

I feel like I say it's crazy every week, but this week seriously is the craziest one yet! I've got two shows during the week on Spring Spectacular, three shows Saturday and two shows Sunday, which is 13 shows altogether in a week. Not that I'm complaining or anything. It's just wild to think about. I'm really just taking it one day at a time and just plugging along. Almost there!

Unlike last week when Nastia could stay until Saturday, she had to leave on Thursday for a speech she's doing in Chicago, so I guess that evens out our schedule again! We really had to fit it all in before she left, and we did. It's Disney Week and we're doing jazz to "Love Is an Open Door" from Frozen, so you're in luck if you're sick of "Let It Go"! The only reason we did jazz was because we really couldn't figure out another style of dance that would fit for that song. The routine is cute. We're having fun with it in that it's really about the enjoyment of it and the characters and the lyrics. Everything is so on the nose. I mean, it's Disney Week, so you have to be. It's very whimsical and fun.

One thing that is tough about not being in L.A. is that if you have an idea about how to stage something or you want to get some dancers in there and get creative, you can't really do that here. It's limited in that sense, but I'm trying to figure out things to do and coordinate with our producers and everyone out there. Henry had some scheduling issues, so now Sasha is going to be camera-blocking with Nastia on Sundays. I'm really grateful to both of them for stepping in and helping us out. They're great guys.

Nastia is feeling better, if not completely healed. It's kind of funny. She was hurting bad for two days and then on the third day, she was like, "Oh, actually, it feels better." She kind of got used to it. I'm feeling good too. I didn't mean for my cryotherapy picture to be "provocative," but I guess it was? I'm just getting frozen for next week. Method dancer here! No, but that's actually something I've done for a while. I do ice baths every night, but we don't have ice baths at Dancing, so before I get on the plane, I go to the cryotherapy place. You go in for two and a half minutes. It's good for your muscles, fatigue, inflammation, you skin and a bunch of different things. Donald Driver was playing football almost into his 40s and people asked him what was the secret to his longevity, and he just said ice. It gets pretty freezing cold in there though! They take your temperature when you come out with the laser thing on your skin and it can go all the way down to 4 degrees. The first time I did an ice bath or anything like that, it's pretty shocking to the system, but when you keep doing it, your body acclimates to it. When you know the benefits behind it, it's easier to handle it.

See you Monday!

Derek