Mark Ballas

Mark Ballas
Ballas performing in June 2014
Born Mark Alexander Ballas Jr.[1]
(1986-05-24) May 24, 1986
Houston, Texas, United States
Nationality American
Occupation Dancer, choreographer, singer-songwriter, musician, actor
Years active 2007–present
Employer ABC
Television Dancing with the Stars
Spouse(s)
BC Jean (m. 2016)
Parent(s) Corky Ballas
Shirley Ballas
Relatives George Ballas
(paternal grandfather)
Musical career
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Years active 2005–present
Labels
Associated acts
Website www.markballas.com

Mark Alexander Ballas Jr. (born May 24, 1986)[2] is an American dancer, choreographer, singer-songwriter, musician, and actor.

Ballas is a professional ballroom dancer on the ABC program Dancing with the Stars. He began competing on the show in season five during the fall of 2007 and was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Choreography in 2011. Ballas released his first solo CD HurtLoveBox in March 2011.

Personal life

Ballas was born in Houston, Texas,[2] the son of dancers Corky Ballas[3][4] and Shirley Ballas (née Rich).[5] His paternal grandparents were of Mexican, Spanish, and Greek background, and his mother is originally from the United Kingdom and is of English heritage.[6] His paternal grandfather, George Ballas, was the inventor of the Weed Eater lawn-trimming device. His Greek paternal great-grandparents, Karolos ("Charles") Ballas and Maria Lymnaos were immigrants to the United States from Greece.[7]

Ballas is a member of singer-songwriter duo Alexander Jean[8] along with his wife, BC Jean. The two became engaged in November 2015 after three years of dating,[9] and were married on November 25, 2016 Malibu, California.[10][11]

Career

Early life

Ballas attended Rosemead Preparatory School in South London. At the age of 11, he earned a full-time slot at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London, as well as earning a full scholarship. In 2005, he was awarded "Performer of the Year". He then moved on to win championships at The British Open to the World, The US Open to the World, and The International Open to the World. With his former partner Julianne Hough, he won the Junior Latin American Dance Championship and the gold medal at the Junior Olympics.

Acting

As an actor, Ballas played the lead role of Tony in the musical Copacabana and was the lead dancer in the UK national tour of the Spanish musical Maria de Buenos Aires. He was also the understudy for the role of Ritchie Valens in the UK national tour of Buddy, The Buddy Holly Story. Ballas played an extra in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone as part of the Hufflepuff House. In October 2008, Ballas made a guest appearance on the season premiere of Samantha Who.[12]

On September 6, 2016, it was announced that Ballas would be the final actor to portray the role of Frankie Valli in the Broadway cast of Jersey Boys before it closes in 2017. On May 26, 2018, it was announced that he would play the role of the Teen Angel in the 2018 Toronto revival of Grease in a limited engagement from June 7-10.[13] From September 11, 2018 to November 18, 2018, Ballas will portray Charlie Price in the musical Kinky Boots on Broadway.[14][15]

Dancing with the Stars

On the fifth season of Dancing with the Stars, Ballas was partnered with Cheetah Girls star Sabrina Bryan. On October 30, 2007, the pair was voted off the show. They have been the only couple invited back for an exhibition dance.

Ballas's partner for season 6 of Dancing With The Stars was Olympic Gold Medal-winning figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi. They won the series.

On August 25, 2008, ABC announced the cast of the seventh season of Dancing with the Stars, with Ballas paired with reality television star Kim Kardashian. They were the third couple eliminated, finishing in eleventh place, on September 30, 2008.

For the eighth season of Dancing with the Stars, Ballas was paired with Olympic gold-medal winning gymnast Shawn Johnson, winning that season's competition on May 19, 2009.

He was partnered with actress Melissa Joan Hart for the show's ninth season. They were voted off in week six and came in 9th place.

For season 10, Ballas was partnered with actress Shannen Doherty.[16] They were the first couple eliminated, on March 30, 2010. Despite that, Shannen & Mark hold a higher average than a few celebrities who lasted longer than they did.

For season 11, Ballas was partnered with Bristol Palin, daughter of former Alaska governor and U.S. Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. They made it to the finale and finished in third place.

For season 12, Ballas was partnered with Disney Channel star Chelsea Kane. They made it to the finals where they finished in third place. For his choreography with Kane, specifically the Jive ("I Write Sins Not Tragedies"), Viennese Waltz ("Hedwig's Theme") and Waltz ("My Love") dances, Ballas was nominated for that year's Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography.

For season 13, Ballas was partnered with reality star Kristin Cavallari where they were the 3rd couple eliminated finishing in 10th place.

For season 14, he was partnered with Classical Singer Katherine Jenkins. They made it to the finale where they finished as the runners-up, losing to Donald Driver & Peta Murgatroyd.

For season 15, he returned with season 11 partner, Bristol Palin before being eliminated in week 4. In week 7, he danced with his former partner Shawn Johnson because her partner, Derek Hough suffered a neck injury.

He was paired with two-time Olympic champion Aly Raisman for season 16. Since season 16 had four couples reach the finals for the first time, Aly and Mark were able to become finalists. On May 21, however, they were eliminated at the beginning of the show landing them in fourth place.

For season 17, he was paired with singer Christina Milian. They were the 4th couple eliminated despite receiving high scores and good comments from the judges.

For season 18, he partnered with Full House actress Candace Cameron Bure. The couple made it to the finals and ended in third place.

For season 19, he partnered with Duck Dynasty star Sadie Robertson and finished in 2nd place behind Alfonso Ribeiro.

For season 20, he was paired with star of The Hunger Games film series Willow Shields. The couple was shockingly eliminated in week 7, finishing in seventh place despite receiving high scores throughout the season.

For season 21, he was partnered with actress Alexa PenaVega. They were eliminated in week 9 (despite being at the top of the leaderboard that week) and finished the competition in 6th place.

For season 22, he was paired with UFC mixed martial artist Paige VanZant. Ballas and VanZant made it to the finals of the show and finished in second place. Ballas was not part of the season 23 & 24 cast.[17]

Ballas returned as a professional dancer for season 25, and was paired with violinist Lindsey Stirling. Ballas and Stirling made it to the finals and finished in second place.

Season Partner Place
5 Sabrina Bryan 7th
6 Kristi Yamaguchi 1st
7 Kim Kardashian 11th
8 Shawn Johnson 1st
9 Melissa Joan Hart 9th
10 Shannen Doherty 11th
11 Bristol Palin 3rd
12 Chelsea Kane 3rd
13 Kristin Cavallari 10th
14 Katherine Jenkins 2nd
15 Bristol Palin 9th
16 Alexandra Raisman 4th
17 Christina Milian 9th
18 Candace Cameron Bure 3rd
19 Sadie Robertson 2nd
20 Willow Shields 7th
21 Alexa PenaVega 6th
22 Paige VanZant 2nd
25 Lindsey Stirling 2nd

Records

In his time on Dancing With the Stars, Ballas has set, and broken, numerous records in the course of his (so far) 18 seasons. Some of these records include, but are not limited to:

Dancing with the Stars performances

References

  1. ↑
  2. 1 2 "Mark Ballas". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Like Father, Like Son". OutSmart. December 6, 2010. Archived from the original on December 13, 2010. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  4. ↑ "My Biography". Corky Ballas official site. 2008-08-25. Archived from the original on 2008-12-25. Retrieved 2012-12-26.
  5. ↑ "Shirley's History: Setting the Record Straight". Shirley Ballas official site. Archived from the original on April 13, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2015-04-20.
  7. ↑ Wozny, Nancy. "H-Town's Own Dance Man: Mark Ballas opens up on the naive miracle of Bristol Palin & his John Mayer ways", CultureMap Houston, December 13, 2010. WebCitation archive.
  8. ↑ "AlexanderJean - Mark Ballas BC Jean - New Singer Songwriter". AlexanderJean - Mark Ballas BC Jean - New Singer Songwriter. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  9. ↑ "Dancing with the Stars: Mark Ballas Is Engaged to Singer BC Jean". People. 2016-01-22. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
  10. ↑ Murphy, Desiree (November 25, 2016). "Mark Ballas Marries BC Jean in Gorgeous Malibu Wedding". E! News. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  11. ↑ Gomez, Patrick (November 25, 2016). "Mark Ballas and BC Jean Married". People.com. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Breaking Entertainment and Celebrity News | Entertainment Tonight". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
  13. ↑ https://twitter.com/GreaseToronto/status/1000425088825675776
  14. ↑ Bote, Joshua. "Mark Ballas Steps Into 'Kinky Boots' Broadway Cast as Charlie Price". Billboard. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  15. ↑ Lefkowitz, Andy. "Exclusive! Mark Ballas Extends Run in Broadway's Kinky Boots". Broadway.com. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  16. ↑ Boedeker, Hal (March 2, 2010). "'Dancing With the Stars': Shannen Doherty pairs with Mark Ballas; Kate Gosselin with Tony Dovolani". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on March 5, 2010.
  17. ↑ Radloff, Jessica (2016-08-30). "Here's Everyone Who Will Be Competing on Dancing With the Stars' Next Season". Glamour. Retrieved 2016-09-01.
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