Although she's been missing on Dancing with the Stars, Julianne Hough hasn't lost a step — or her enthusiasm to teach — as evidenced by her new dance-workout DVD Dance with Julianne: Cardio Ballroom, in stores Tuesday.

"Every time I meet a Dancing with the Stars fan, they're like, 'Man, I wish I could dance like that. Is that how you stay in shape?'" the 21-year-old Hough tells TVGuide.com. "And I say [yes] and they go, 'I wish I could take lessons from you or a pro.' So I thought, why not do something that's dance-related?"

Noting that many people consider working out to be a chore, Hough says her instructional disc is the perfect marriage between exercise and a fun-filled hobby. It features the pro teaching three dances: the cha-cha (to work the core), the jive ("cardio galore") and the paso doble (for shaping). "You're working out things that, if you were just lifting weights, you probably couldn't get certain muscles that you'd get when you dance," she says. "It's just full-body. You also learn a skill and you can do it by yourself. Have fun with it like a dance class!"

Hough choreographed the dances over the summer in a rather unconventional location: her tour bus. The country singer opened for George Strait and snuck in dance time whenever she could — an admirable feat considering she was also doing screen tests for Burlesque, starring Christina Aguilera and Cher, and Kenny Ortega's Footloose remake.

"It was absolutely intense, but it was really fun," she says. "I wasn't doing this for any other reason than I truly had fun doing this and I really wanted people, especially my fans, to feel like they're part of the show somehow. Certain things that I do on the DVD, I teach my partners on the show."

With Cardio Ballroom in the can, Hough is focusing on recording her second album and transitioning to the silver screen. After splitting with Chuck Wicks last month, the newly single multi-hyphenate says her upcoming album, which she's co-written, will feature "a lot of personal stuff." (She declines to address reports that she's getting cozy with Kings of Leon bassist Jared Followill.)

Hough recorded most of the disc while on break from Burlesque, which follows a small-town girl (Aguilera) who finds success at a Los Angeles burlesque club owned by Tess (Cher). Hough plays Georgia, a fellow hoofer who befriends Aguilera's character. "She's really, really sweet. She gets into a little pickle and ends up having to leave, but she comes back," Hough teases. "I have a scene where they all come to my wedding and I come back at the end."

Filming will wrap in the next two months, just in time for Hough to possibly cheer on Apolo Anton Ohno — her "favorite partner ever" on Dancing — at the Vancouver Olympics ("I need to know the dates of his events") and then head over to Footloose. Hough will play Ariel to Chace Crawford's Ren in an updated take on the '80s classic — which, she points out, was filmed in her native Utah. "I used to see those roller mills where he does his huge dance scene every day on my way to dance," she says.

The script is undergoing a rewrite.

"I thought [I was going to film] Footloose first, and I was like, 'Oh man, it's going to be hard having my first film be a leading role!' But with Burlesque, I'm a co-star, so the pressure's not on me," she says. "The acting I feel like I've been doing my whole life, but the actual filming process, I'm learning everything."

Getting Footloose means no Dancing return for her yet. "Definitely not this spring, but we'll cross the bridge when we get to it next fall," the two-time champ teases. "Maybe I'll be back, maybe not."