THE STORY – Just months after marrying Derek Hough, dancer Hayley Erbert Hough suffers a life-altering brain injury on stage, forcing the couple to navigate an uncertain future where love, identity, and ambition are tested, and where reclaiming her life may mean redefining everything they’ve built together.
THE CAST – Derek Hough, Hayley Erbert Hough & Julianne Hough
THE TEAM – Jason Bergh (Director)
THE RUNNING TIME – 109 Minutes
Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert Hough were a real-life fairytale. They met on Derek’s tour, slowly fell in love, and got married. Two dancers who not only shared each other’s love but also understood the driving force as fellow creative athletes. Only weeks after their wedding, Hough put together a new dance show to tour the country, this one featuring a symphony inspired by his love for Hayley, who was not only a featured dancer in the show but also a creative collaborator. But three months after their wedding and 43 cities into the tour, Derek and Hayley collide heads in a number. She feels a throbbing headache but pushes through. But at the end of the show, she collapses offstage and begins to have a seizure. From that moment on, the perfect fairytale is shattered.
“The Symphony of Dance” chronicles the journey of Hough and Erbert Hough as newlyweds, navigating an extreme health crisis. We learn that Hayley had a subdural hematoma, a collection of blood inside the skull. This resulted in emergency surgery where 40% of her skull had to be removed in order to allow the brain to swell and begin its recovery. As with brain injuries, the side effects can range. In a talking-heads segment featuring Derek and Hayley’s neurologist, director Jason Bergh states that limitations in Hayley’s speech, language, and muscles can occur. This puts a lot into perspective for Hayley once she wakes up: can she walk again? Be healthy enough to carry a child? Live life the way she had before? And most importantly, will she ever be able to dance again?
“The Symphony of Dance” is at its strongest when addressing these themes. Bergh educates his audience and notes that surviving such an injury is in and of itself a miracle, but the recovery process is a whole different game. We are given glimpses into Hayley’s hospital stay, where she had to wear a helmet to protect her exposed brain, and at-home therapy regimens once she was discharged. Due to her age, health, and relative good luck, Hayley makes a speedy recovery with little to no speech or language limitations or muscle limitations. Bergh’s focus and Erbert Hough’s willingness to allow the camera into this intense and personal time in her life offer a candid look into traumatic brain injury recovery.
But then the film quickly pivots focus. Maybe it is because Hayley is personally and professionally tied to her husband, Derek Hough, or that her injury occurred right in the middle of Derek’s show. However, the film shifts its focus from Hayley to Derek, hitting all the traditional beats of a celebrity documentary. From his childhood home and education to his rise to stardom, there is a decent chunk of the film dedicated to Hough, which completely steals the spotlight from its main subject. This isn’t to say that the film can’t feature Hough. The elements of his choreographing and rehearsing the show, directing the promotional art, are wonderful, especially with Bergh and Matt Boss as the co-directors of photography, who brilliantly capture the beauty of dance in all of its ballroom styles. But Bergh loses focus on his story and subject when it becomes a classic Hollywood documentary on Derek Hough. We lose precious time with Hayley and how she feels during the initial stages of her recovery due to this creative choice.
It is evident that dance is not only Derek and Hayley’s love language, but their first language, so the moments when they are in the rehearsal room are just kinetic. After only four months, Hayley states that she is ready to perform again, and watching her try to relearn not only the routines, but how her body communicates with her brain is fascinating. This also creates a bit of friction, as Derek, her main partner in the show, is unsure which role he should play: the dance partner or the romantic partner? The employer or the caretaker? The supportive husband or the supportive creative collaborator? These elements come to the fore tenfold as they rehearse, and Bergh shows conflict in every frame. We can see Hayley pushing herself, and Derek getting stiff every time she says her head hurts, then immediately trying a lifting sequence, which requires complete trust. These elements showcase both Hayley’s passion and the risk she is willing to take in the name of art, athleticism, and performance.
“This is not just about dancing. This is not just about performing again,” Hough states, highlighting the theme of the film. “It is so much more than that. Dancing has been part of our lives since we were kids, and it’s really about sort of reclaiming a part of ourselves that we feel we lost.” “The Symphony of Dance” showcases that there is both a physical process to healing from a traumatic brain injury and also a mental and emotional one – a whole other section of grief as the patient relearns elements that were once second nature to them. This is where the film shines: watching Hayley gracefully navigate this near-death experience in a positive light, finding her passion again with the support of her husband and family. It might not be a perfect fairytale, but it is definitely a happy-ever-after.
