Why Derek Hough and His Fiancée Canceled Their ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Finale Performance

Dancing With the Stars viewers were saddened by Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert not hitting the dancefloor for the Season 31 finale. The couple was slated to perform but dropped out after Erbert injured her shoulder during camera blocking the night before the show.  “We were doing a lift we’ve danced 100 times, but something weird happened causing Hayley to fall awkwardly and hard onto her shoulder,” they said in a joint Instagram statement. “We tried running through the dance again, but quickly realized Hayley’s shoulder had been compromised. As a true dancer, Hayley was ready to push through and perform. But sometimes, and definitely in this moment, we thought it best to dance another day.”

Erbert underwent an MRI and watched the finale from the audience. The newly engaged couple planned a performance set to Tommee Profitt and Fleurie’s cover of Snow Patrol’s “Chasing Cars.” They performed together earlier in the season during Michael Bublé Week. “We were so excited to show you. We worked so hard on it,” Hough said in the accompanying video. “We’ll hopefully show this piece another time. But we love you guys and good luck for the finale, everybody.”

Hough has been part of the show since the start, transitioning from pro to judge. In an interview with us to promote his initiative with Southwest Airlines, the six-time Mirrorball winner gushed about how the show has used the art of dance as education.  

“Ten years ago, if I said a Pasadoble, you’re like, “Wait, what’d you say?” Now I see a guy, he’s like, “Hey man, I like that New Yorker section in that Cha-cha.” It’s like there’s this understanding of the dance. I think that it’s good to have some higher levels of dance, so people who want to see that, can appreciate that and, “Wow, the choreography, I love that,” he said.