Show & Tell: Meet dancer Jeremiah Hughes

Q: Any relation to Howard Hughes?

A: No relation. But maybe we just haven't found the will yet.

Q: You were born in Nashville?

A: I was born in Nashville but I was raised in Toronto, Canada. ... Actually, my dad was a country singer, and country got big in Ontario at one point, so we moved out.

Q: Did you get into the business through your dad being a country singer?

A: Actually, at my mom and (step)dad's marriage, there was a dance floor there. I loved it. I started partying and, by the end of the night -- I was like 11 years old -- I stayed up until 1 in the morning dancing, and I said, "Know what? I want to do this." So the rest of the summer I just kept bugging my mom, like, "Dance class, dance class, dance class."

Q: How did you end up coming to Las Vegas?

A: I moved to New York and lived there for a while. Then I auditioned for a cruise ship, and did a cruise ship, and ended up in Orlando. I was in Orlando with my girlfriend when I auditioned for a show in Vegas, and I was contracted at a different show. ... (When) I was between contracts, I was hanging out with a friend who has always been in the cast with Frank Marino, and I've always heard good things. He gave me a ticket to see the show on Monday and I auditioned on Wednesday.

Q: When was that?

A: The audition was in June. ... The show's always kind of evolving, so it feels like six or seven months go by very quickly because, "Oh, there's a new number." I can think of two numbers that have been added to the show since I've been there.

Q: You mentioned a girlfriend. Do people assume that because you dance in "Divas" that you, perhaps, wouldn't have a girlfriend?

A: That I'm gay? (Laughs) "Gay" is an appropriate word. But it has happened. ... Part of the idea of "Divas" is, they used to have female dancers, but the problem was they had girls beside queens and the contrast wasn't strong enough. So, if you bring male dancers, it brings a real contrast onstage."

Q: It's also a departure from the male-to-female dancer ratio you see in most shows.

A: It's a really nice dynamic. I think, definitely percentage-wise, it's the highest-employing male cast I've ever been in. If we needed to, we could just have urinals in the bathrooms.

Q: Any plans for when your performing career wraps up?

A: Post-dance, I would love to maybe open a dance studio, a competition studio. I know the training I got gave me a huge leg up in the industry, so I want to give back what I learned. At the same time, for right now, I'm really happy at "Divas." It's a job, and in this economy you've really got to appreciate that, but it's also a job you want to be doing, which is kind of like a golden thing.