Derek Hough performed with his wife Hayley Hough in "Symphony of Dance" on Friday at The Palace in Albany. 

Derek Hough is Mr. Entertainment. He’s an actor, singer, musician and, of course, a dancer extraordinaire who is best-known as a six-time “Dancing With the Stars” champion.
 
Aside from his giant talent, his secret sauce is his charm. And he heaped it onto Palace Theatre Albany audiences on Friday night and they lapped it up with screams and swoons that couldn’t be contained. And he and his cast of seven dancers, including his wife Hayley Hough, responded by throwing down some feisty and gorgeous dancing in his newest tour “Symphony of Dance.”
 
As expected, a “Dancing With the Stars” spinoff is all sequins and smiles adorning quick dance segments that meld ballroom and gymnastics peppered with some luscious lyrical dance. And each in the cast, including a trio of musicians, were expert – navigating the pumped up rhythms and steps like a Swiss watch.
 
Hough was the center of it all who appeared in nearly every number, skipping into the spotlight, cocking his hips, twirling his frame and at one point, ripping off his t-shirt and throwing it to a delighted crowd.
 
He also brought up six members of the audience onto the stage where he lined them up – back-to-back – and then sprang over them en masse in a split, like an Evel Knievel of dance. It was impressive.
 
Hough is not just a show-off. He also spoke of those that came before him and inspired him – with a tribute to Tina Turner’s rock ‘n’ roll with a raucous, hair-swinging romp to “Proud Mary” and to Gene Kelly with his own silly rendering of the brilliant “Good Morning” from “Singin’ in the Rain.”
 
He also spoke sweetly and sincerely about the love for his wife and the death of “Dancing with the Stars” beloved judge Len Goodman. And that’s where a devotion to Hough’s talents expands to one that sees and honors his humanity.
 
But that was a small part of it. Mainly, the show was a dizzying array of dances. I especially liked the Latin dances, the rhumba and jives, as well as the Houghs’ stern command of the tango.  
 
As the show was loud – both musically and in the seats – the occasional beautiful lyrical duets were welcome as they lowered the volume. 
 
I was also amazed at the seemly endless changes of colorful costumes – all gorgeous with many of them flirtatiously revealing. The wardrobe staff must be the busiest in all of show business.  
 
The flash and fun all dovetailed with “Symphony of Dance,” an energy-charged showcase that will surely expand Hough’s already large and loyal fans base. 

​What is the groove? It's an intangible and delicious impulse that when you see or feel it, you know it.
 
Passion Fruit proved beyond any doubt it has an overflowing abundance of groove in its “Dance Within Your Dance.” As choreographed by Tatiana Desardouin, the hour-long duet, seen Saturday night at the University at Albany, glides and gets down in a seamless and fascinating hip-hop/house club battle between two inexhaustible dancers who defy human limitations.
 
Aside from a short and charming video that questions “what is groove” by Loreto Jamlig, the piece is nonstop with Mai Lê Hô and Lauriane Ogay trading bops, bobs and weaves in astounding synchronicity. And they kept going and going and going. At any moment, I expected one of them to faint from weariness. But these two never even let on that they were breathing heavily.
 
The tall, lean Ogay was especially amazing as she did not ever leave the stage, as Hô did only briefly.
 
I loved “Dance Within Your Dance” too because the piece honors how each dancer finds their groove in their personal shuffles and port-de-bras.
 
The work begins with the two finding their beat in the electronic music, mixed by Jamlig. They flick a wrist, cock their head, poke a hip or a rib to rev up their irrepressible groove to Axel Bowman’s remix of Maribou State featuring Pedestrian.
 
As they build their dance, the music becomes layered with rhythms overlapping and the voice of Sam I Am Montolla repeating the phrase “All we ever want.” The lighting by Elmer Martinez defines the space with initially a shaft of light – making it appear the two are passing through a portal into a well-lit room and then transitions to spotlights referencing dance clubs that give special individuals the floor.
 
Ogay and Ho obviously deserved it. Their fancy and fluid footwork and arm gestures that ripple their torsos make them look casual, like they are just the most interesting person walking down the street. But their complexity and stamina assures the audience that this is dance on a top creative and professional level.  
 
Passion Fruit has definitely found its groove. And for that, the small ensemble will also bear much fruit.