Julianne Hough's dream came true!
The dancer got adorably teary-eyed after performing twice at New York City's Beacon Theatre June 21. In fact, Julianne shared a video of herself crying via Instagram. "Definitely a little emotional," the Footloose star and ex-Dancing With the Stars pro said in the clip. "First time on Broadway! Awesome!"
Julianne and her older brother Derek Hough are in the midst of their nationwide Move Live tour.
To promote their shows, the siblings recently posed for People and opened up about their journey to superstardom. In 1998, the ballroom-dance prodigies left home to attend London's prestigious Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, leaving behind three older siblings and their sheltered Utah life. When they moved to the U.K., they lived with family friend Shirley Ballas, her husband Corky and son Mark.
Though they were pursuing their dreams, it wasn't easy. The Houghs followed a grueling schedule that started at 6:45 a.m. and included dancing, academics and more dancing until nearly midnight. "It was hard," Derek recalled. "There were moments when I just wanted to go and have fun." Julianne, who wore a face full of makeup and got spray tans for competitions, said she grew up a little too fast. "When I look back, I think it's so sad I have no pictures of me with a cute, bare, 10-year-old face," she admitted.
Years later, the Houghs made it onto Dancing With the Stars—and the rest, as they say, is history.