Celebrity Derek Hough Announces First-Ever Holiday Tour After a 'Year of Miracles' with Wife Hayley Erbert (Exclusive) "The holidays are a lot of fun, but they're also quite an emotional time," Hough tells PEOPLE exclusively about hoping to spread "joy" with his shows By Alex Ross Alex Ross Alex Ross is a Writer-Reporter on the Entertainment team at PEOPLE. She previously worked at E! News and the Today show and is a Boston University graduate. People Editorial Guidelines Published on July 30, 2024 12:00PM EDT Hayley Erbert and Derek Hough. Photo: Frank Micelotta/Disney via Getty Derek Hough is hoping to spread some holiday cheer later this year. The Emmy winner, 39, is set to kick off his first-ever holiday dance tour — Derek Hough Dance For The Holidays — on Nov. 1 in Atlantic City, PEOPLE confirms exclusively. (Tickets are on sale beginning Friday, Aug. 2 at 10 a.m., and the 38-city tour will see stops in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Nashville and more.) "I feel like this past year has been a year of really miracles, honestly. That word gets thrown around sometimes, but truly, at least in our life there's been some miraculous things that have happened," says Hough, whose wife, Hayley Erbert, underwent emergency surgery last December after being hospitalized for a cranial hematoma. Through the years Hough and his loved ones (including sister Julianne Hough) have participated in holiday specials and sing-alongs. Julianne and Derek Hough Will Host The Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade, Taped Before Hayley Erbert's Injury Hayley Erbert and Derek Hough attend the 'Inside Out 2' premiere in June. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Feeling extra grateful this year, "I wanted to do something in the holiday spirit," he says of the upcoming run of shows, which will feature both classic tunes and modern pop hits. "The holidays are a lot of fun, but they're also quite an emotional time and can be quite difficult. I think that whenever you're giving or serving in some kind of way, you're living at your best." After a grueling recovery, Erbert, 29, returned to the stage in April for their Symphony of Dance tour. "It was amazing. We documented the whole process, and it's actually pretty extraordinary. There's so much that we haven't shared yet just because I don't think we wanted to really shock people too much with certain things, but it is even more miraculous than we even let on," says Hough. "Even the doctors that we talked to who were there at the hospital, they pulled us aside and they said, 'Listen, this doesn't happen,'" he recalls. "The weight of that, and the feeling of that... it's wild." Hayley Erbert Returns to Red Carpet 4 Months After Craniectomy with Derek Hough Hough says he's been working on the music for the holiday tour over the last couple months while also casting dancers, musicians and working on creative for the costumes and script. While his plate is full, he and Erbert are embracing any downtime they have — especially after an unexpectedly rocky start to married life. "We really went from being married to being on tour rehearsals, and then on tour and then in a hospital, and then basically back in the rehearsal studio and then back on tour," says Hough, who recently traveled to Iceland with his wife. "For us, it was like, 'Okay, we need a time to really just go on an adventure and to get out.' I've been telling her this really feels like our second honeymoon."