'Dancing With the Stars' 2015 Cast: Derek Hough Talks Why Bindi Irwin Partnership Has Been 'Miraculous'
Derek Hough has a very special connection to his new Dancing With the Stars partner, Bindi Irwin.
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Hough and Irwin came out of the gate strong on Monday night's premiere of Dancing With the Stars. The pair earned a score of 24 out of 30 from the judges, tying them with Nick Carter and Sharna Burgess at the top of the leaderboard.
Speaking to their instant connection, Hough wrote in his TVGuide.com blog about why Irwin has been such a great partner so far.
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"It's been miraculous. I feel like she's had this dancer within her," he wrote this week after the premiere. "The reason why she learns so well and so quickly is because she's in that state of openness. She's always willing to try. My family called me last night and was like, 'What an amazing role model' to have a girl like that. You can tell she's so comfortable in her skin. She has a mission. I think her dad would be very proud of her."
Hough is of course referring to Irwin's famous father Steve Irwin, a.k.a. The Crocodile Hunter, who died in 2006 at the age of 44. The pro dancer admitted that he and Bindi have "broken down in tears" while talking about her father during rehearsals.
Next week is set to be an emotional one for Hough especially, considering it's Hometown Week.
"We are working on two dances. It's hometown week and we're doing some ballroom. I'm excited," he admitted. "For my hometown, I'm gonna talk about this song I heard that kind of reminded me of my younger self. The dance is gonna be about how this guy came up to me and said, 'You gotta go pick him up now.' I'm like, 'Who?' And he said, 'That little boy Derek you left back in Utah. You had to leave to achieve certain things but now you gotta pick him up.' That was an emotional moment for me and I've been remembering that boy every day and making sure he comes with me wherever I go."
Dancing With the Stars returns for another new episode Monday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
