Pimp Your Pro – Mark Ballas, According to dwts

Not DWTS the show, dwts as in a person with that nick. 🙂 And she’s a Mark fan in a big way!

Mark Ballas. One of the most favorited pros on Dancing with the Stars. Why? His body. His smile. His ability to dance. This man can do anything!

Ballas has dancing in his blood. With trained dancers as parents, Corky and Shirley Ballas, he was taught how to dance from the very beginning. Born in Houston, Texas, then moving out to London, Ballas commited to dance completely. Moving to London with two of his childhood friends, Julianne and Derek Hough, they stayed together so they could all pursue their dancing career and compete for trophies. Ballas’ commitment paid off. Along with being awarded “Performer of the Year” at his dance schools, he went 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 partner Julianne Hough.

Dancing is not Ballas’ only talent. He sings in a group with Derek Hough in a band called the Ballas Hough Band. He also plays the guitar. What a multi-talented artist!

Mark Ballas is one of the few that is a two time champion of Dancing with the Stars. Always pushing his partners to the limit, Mark made each and every one of his celebrities shine. Even on his first season, Season 5, when most pros are just getting a feel for Dancing with the Stars, Mark managed to make his partner, Sabrina Bryan, stand out from the crowd. She attained the highest score ever on the first week of competition at the time getting a 26 out of 30. They set another record with their Paso Doble, making it the earliest in the competition that a couple has gotten a perfect score. In Season 8, Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke equaled that record. The next season, Ballas was paired with Kristi Yamaguchi. The pair then beat the earlier record of a 26 out of 30 made by Sabrina and Mark, and totaled a score of 27 out of 30. This score is still to this day the highest score ever reached in the first week of competition. They went on to win Season 6. Throughout the seasons, Ballas was paired with Kim Kardashian, Shawn Johnson, Melissa Joan Hart, and most recently, Shannen Doherty. He won Season 8 with Shawn Johnson. Although he didn’t always make it very far in each season, he still managed to make each and every one of his celebrity partners shine as much as possible.

Mark Ballas is not only a great singer, dancer, and musician, he’s also a great person. He even got into a romantic relationship with partner Sabrina Bryan. The pair was so popular that they got paired together again for the Design a Dance in 2009. Romantic relationship or not, he was a great person to each of his partners. When other pros would yell at their partners for doing a step wrong, he would gently correct him or her and ask to do it again. Mark is one of the only pros who actually tries to have fun with their partners too. He’s a funny, loving, gentle, good-looking person, not to mention a great dancer! And this guy is only 24! We wish you the best of luck for any future endeavors, Mark! We love you!

Keep the pimping coming, people!! Remember the rules – and everyone should participate. I’ve got another Derek pimping waiting in the wings – don’t want to hear any complaining if you all can’t write one about your pro!! 🙂