Mark Ballas

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

Mark Ballas
Ballas performing in June 2014
Born
Mark Alexander Ballas Jr.[1]

(1986-05-24) May 24, 1986
Houston, Texas, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationDancer, choreographer, singer-songwriter, musician, actor
Years active2007–present
EmployerABC
TelevisionDancing with the Stars
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 2016)​
Parent(s)Corky Ballas
Shirley Ballas
RelativesGeorge Ballas
(paternal grandfather)
Musical career
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Years active2005–present
Labels
Associated acts
Websitewww.markballas.com

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 and Greek background, and his mother is originally from the United Kingdom and is of English heritage;[6] she has also discovered that she has distant Black/Asian ancestry from Madagascar.[7] His paternal grandfather, George Ballas, was the inventor of the Weed Eater lawn-trimming device. His paternal great-grandparents, Karolos ("Charles") Ballas and Maria Lymnaos were immigrants to the United States from Greece.[8]

Ballas is a member of singer-songwriter duo Alexander Jean[9] along with his wife, BC Jean. The two became engaged in November 2015 after three years of dating,[10] and were married on 25 November 2016, in Malibu, California.[11][12]

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
Ballas in 2013

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.[13]

On 6 September 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 26 May 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 7–10 June.[14] From 11 September 2018 to 18 November 2018, Ballas portrayed Charlie Price in the musical Kinky Boots on Broadway.[15][16]

Dancing with the Stars

On the fifth season of Dancing with the Stars, Ballas was partnered with Cheetah Girls star Sabrina Bryan. On 30 October 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 season.

On 25 August 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 30 September 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 19 May 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.[17] They were the first couple eliminated, on 30 March 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 21 May, 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.[18]

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 Millian 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:

Alexander Jean
Main article: Alexander Jean

Alexander Jean is a duo formation made up of Mark Ballas and his wife BC Jean. They worked as a husband-wife American pop rock duo starting 2015. Their debut single was "Roses and Violets". The single reach the Top 20 on Billboard's Hot 100 "Bubbling Under" chart. They had success with "Waiting for You" and were nominated Elvis Duran's Artist of the Month in November 2018.

Dancing with the Stars performances

Discography

*(For discography as part of band with Derek Hough, see Ballas Hough Band)
*(For discography as part of duo with BC Jean, see Alexander Jean)

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 30 November 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Mark Ballas". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  3. "Like Father, Like Son". OutSmart. 6 December 2010. Archived from the original on 13 December 2010. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  4. "My Biography". Corky Ballas official site. 25 August 2008. Archived from the original on 25 December 2008. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  5. "Shirley's History: Setting the Record Straight". Shirley Ballas official site. Archived from the original on 13 April 2010.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. Who Do You Think You Are (UK), Season 15 Episode 5: Shirley Ballas
  8. 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, 13 December 2010. WebCitation archive.
  9. "AlexanderJean – Mark Ballas BC Jean – New Singer Songwriter". AlexanderJean – Mark Ballas BC Jean – New Singer Songwriter. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  10. "Dancing with the Stars: Mark Ballas Is Engaged to Singer BC Jean". People. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  11. Murphy, Desiree (25 November 2016). "Mark Ballas Marries BC Jean in Gorgeous Malibu Wedding". E! News. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  12. Gomez, Patrick (25 November 2016). "Mark Ballas and BC Jean Married". People.com. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  13. "Breaking Entertainment and Celebrity News | Entertainment Tonight". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  14. "Grease Toronto on Twitter". Twitter.
  15. Bote, Joshua. "Mark Ballas Steps Into 'Kinky Boots' Broadway Cast as Charlie Price". Billboard. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  16. Lefkowitz, Andy. "Exclusive! Mark Ballas Extends Run in Broadway's Kinky Boots". Broadway.com. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  17. Boedeker, Hal (2 March 2010). "'Dancing With the Stars': Shannen Doherty pairs with Mark Ballas; Kate Gosselin with Tony Dovolani". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on 5 March 2010.
  18. Radloff, Jessica (30 August 2016). "Here's Everyone Who Will Be Competing on Dancing With the Stars' Next Season". Glamour. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
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