Dancing's Derek Hough: It's Awesome to Be Back with Amy

Hey everyone!
Thanks for your votes!
How'd you like the switch-up? I thought it went great. It was fun to see everyone with different partners and I think it was a good change of pace for us and the celebrities. For me as a student, I like to have a bunch of different teachers and I want insight from different people. Plus, it was great to admire Amy from afar. It was wonderful and I was so proud watching her shake it with Mark. I'm sure everyone felt the same way watching their partner out there. I think that's the best part of the switch-up — being able to see your partner do their thing out there and knowing you had a part in helping them on their journey there. Amy and I still did our little ritual before they went on. I went downstairs and I talked to her for a little bit during the commercial break. 
I loved working with Nene. She is hysterical! We had a blast together. We just wanted to go all-out with the routine. When we heard the song, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. And Nene is the Queen B! We had a little glitch with the music in the beginning, but we figured it out. I love the band, but little things like that happen. I won't lie — in the moment, I was freaking out, but we pulled it together. 
I know everyone's talking about Julianne's comment to Maks. That was just her opinion. I don't think anyone expected her to say that, but it's her opinion and it's neither right nor wrong. Judging is subjective. We see it all the time with Carrie Ann, Len and Bruno when they argue and disagree with each other. What one person might love and see as great, the other person might feel the opposite. Carrie Ann and Len didn't like Charlie and Peta's rumba, but Bruno and Julianne liked it. It's the same thing. Was Julianne right in saying it? I think she was trying to be as honest as possible and that's how she felt about the routine. I think it could've been her trying to picture herself doing the routine and maybe she felt she wouldn't have been satisfied. It doesn't make it wrong or right. It's always uncomfortable when the pros are critiqued in any way. It feels personal and you try not to let it get to you or get defensive about it. Those are normal reactions, but you want to try to keep it together for the show. Whether or not you agree with Julianne, I think we can all agree that she definitely leaves her mark when she judges!
It's awesome to be back with Amy again. We have the waltz this week and it's our first ballroom dance, so we're starting from scratch a little bit. It was a little rough in the beginning, but I think it's going to be OK. We're figuring it out. With ballroom and the waltz, the technique has a lot of rises and falls and poses and ankle movements to create a certain flow. She hasn't done any of that yet in the dances we've had, so it takes some adjusting, but Amy's a fast learner. 
What was also cool about her salsa with Mark was that she used her feet that were on half-point instead of full-point. Those actually freed up her hip, so she was able to move more. It was really cool to watch her break away and go off on her own. We're constantly working with her prosthetics maker to see which feet work best with each dance, so we're figuring that out now. Maybe one day there'll be a different pair of feet for each dance! I'm really excited about the routine. It's lighthearted and I think it's going to be a really sweet dance.
See you Monday!
Derek