Professional ballroom dancer Mark Ballas debuted on television in the fall of 2007, as a performer on the ABC network's competitive reality program Dancing with the Stars. In that stint, Ballas danced opposite celebrity partner Sabrina Bryan of the Disney Channel movie The Cheetah Girls (2003). Though the energetic pair didn't manage to take the top prize that year, Ballas fared better when he paired with Kristi Yamaguchi during season seven of the show. A force to be reckoned with on the dance floor, Ballas and Yamaguchi stunned viewers with their remarkable agility, leaving all of their competitors in the dust. When he's not dancing, Ballas can often be found on stage with his blues-rock band Almost Amy, which he founded with fellow Dancing with the Stars cast-mate Derek Hough.
Mark Ballas
Born - May 24, 1986 in Houston, Texas, United States |
Genres - Comedy, Business, Health & Fitness
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Biography by AllMovie
Factsheet
- Parents, Corky and Shirley Ballas, were international Dancesport champions in England during the 1990s.
- Moved to London, England, as a child.
- Became British Juvenile Ballroom and Latin American Dance champion when he was 10 years old.
- Paired with Dancing with the Stars cast mate Julianne Hough in 2003 for the Junior Olympics, at which they were both awarded gold medals.
- With best friend and DWTS cast mate Derek Hough, formed a pop-rock group called the Ballas Hough Band.
- Played lead character of Tony in the Barry Manilow-helmed musical Copacabana, and was the lead dancer in the UK's National Tour of the Spanish musical Maria de Buenos Aires.
- Joined DWTS in the fall of 2007; won Season 6 with partner Kristi Yamaguchi and Season 8 with Shawn Johnson.
- Founded the Ballas Foundation in 2010, an organization that promotes suicide prevention programs throughout the U.S.