Dancing's Derek Hough Explains All the Ways Bindi Irwin Is a Badass

Hey guys,

Thanks for your votes and messages!

I think you guys are more bummed about my team dance record ending than I am! Team Nightmare totally deserved that win. That was so, so good. I'm not gonna lie -- I felt like our song was a complete letdown. Maybe not "complete," but nothing against Ghostbusters -- which I love -- but the song was less inspiring. When I saw the other group's dance, I was like, "That's the one." They were just so cohesive, and the costumes and choreography were so perfect. That's gotta be one of the best team dances ever on the show.

I love what we came up for our dance and am proud of everyone. Poor Bindi took the blame for getting out of sync at the beginning. She did get off timing a little bit. It was hard for her to hear and see because of our shots from the proton packs and the smoke. She just kind of gagged and went too soon. I was like, "Oh, no!" It was one of those things that you could tell she was off, but it wasn't drastic. She did a great job!

I'm more than happy with our Argentine tango. Fierce Bindi is fierce! Here's one of the many great things about Bindi: She has this amazing ability to perform. And she's not a performer in her real life. She's this girl who just lives outside with animals and to see her get into characters so well is nothing short of awesome. I actually think being around animals is why she's so adept at adapting to these different dances. When I told her to be fierce and strong, she was like, "I just thought about a tiger and a shark." I was like, "A shark?" She said, "Yeah, have you ever looked into a shark's eyes?" I was like, "Um, not personally, no." She was like, "They're really cool-looking!" It's like, "Cool! Whatever works!"

This week we have the foxtrot. I don't think Bindi is thinking of foxes just yet. It's always a little hard going from one of my favorite dances, the Argentine tango, to something like the foxtrot. I'm trying to make it interesting and add some fun elements to it. What's fantastic about Bindi that I don't think people realize is that she does her homework. If we do Dirty Dancing or Lost Boys, the next day, she comes in and is like, "OK, I watched the movie and a bunch of videos last night and then I watched our rehearsal video. I was studying them." She comes in having done all this homework and is ready to go. She wants to get better and is not just all talk. It's amazing. She's definitely not of those people who just put in the work while in rehearsal; she goes the extra mile. So, yes, she did watch The Jeffersons after we got that song!

There's also a dance-off this week, which I'm not worried about right now. I haven't even thought of that yet. I like to do those sort of last minute. I want Bindi to focus on the actual dance first and get that in her body and in her mind, and then we can go back and prepare for this. The good thing is that we've done two of the styles already: jive and cha cha.

Since it's Halloween, I'll leave you with a story that is simultaneously gross and indicative of how awesome Bindi is. Yesterday, she had her socks off and my jaw dropped to the floor when I saw her feet. Three of her toenails have fallen off, she had huge blisters all over and bruises on her knees. It was not pretty! She was like, "Oh, yeah, they fell off yesterday. That one was bleeding last night." I was like, "Bindi, you gotta tell me." And she was like, "Oh, it's nothing." I said, "No, I gotta know when you're hurting." She was like, "No, really, I'm fine. It's not a big deal." I've had partners who needed to take a 20-minute break if it's one little blister. Bindi is a badass.

Have a happy and safe Halloween!

Derek