PureDWTS Season 22, Week 3 – An Update on Mark Ballas
As we mentioned yesterday, Mark was seen around the rehearsal studio yesterday, which seems to indicate that he is still very much in the competition this season. Now we have a bit more behind-the-scenes info to share…
…according to a source, Mark is still injured, and given the nature of the injury, it seems potentially serious (I’m guessing they’ll share his diagnosis in the package on Monday). Mark is currently trying to rest his back as a result. HOWEVER, Mark has every intention of dancing with Paige on Monday if he’s able, and is still very much Paige’s partner. Alan & Hayley have both been assisting them during rehearsals for their paso doble, but Mark is running the show – his concept, his choreography. From the impression I got – the situation is still very up-in-the-air, but Mark is determined to dance.
I think the captions on the Instagram picture of Paige & Alan he posted on Tuesday very clearly indicate that he intends to remain Paige’s partner this season:
So what do I make of this? Well I think all the Alan fans that seem to be creeping out of the woodwork, hoping that Mark will “give Alan a shot at being a pro” need to slow their roll quite a bit, because I don’t think Mark has any intention of giving Paige up without a fight – and rightfully so. I remember Deep Throat telling me how absolutely THRILLED Mark was to get Paige as a partner this season – he’d been hoping she’d get a shot on the show for awhile, and I’d even go so far as to guess that she was probably one of his “dream partners”. And Paige has got a great work ethic and a lot of talent – talent that I think is best harnessed by a seasoned pro with two MBT’s and a lot of choreography experience under his belt, and NOT a completely green, un-battle-tested newb from the troupe. This is quite possibly the most competitive season we’ve ever seen, kids – and if Paige wants a fighting chance (no pun intended) of lasting this season, Mark is her best bet. If anything, I think the rest of the pros this season would mop the floor with Alan, experience-wise, if he were suddenly to become Paige’s full-time partner – and the resulting failure could potentially torpedo any future shots at being a pro that he might have…think about it. This is quite possibly the WORST season to come in as a rookie pro and try to prove yourself…so why would you want to subject him to that? So you can watch him gyrate around with his shirt open and a dopey grin on his face? 🙂
Anyway, I wish Mark the speediest and most painless of recoveries, and I’ve got my fingers crossed he gets to dance with Paige on Monday 😉
ETA: Vogue here. Paige was on KTLA today. She talked on Dancing With The Stars and the accident with Mark last week. She also gives a report on Mark and says he’s still trying to find out what’s wrong with him (like Court reported). Right now she’s rehearsing with both Alan and Mark and isn’t sure what will happen on Monday night. More below…
Thanks for the update with inside info. Take care of your back Mark. If Alan and Haley are smart they will soak up every bit of this chance to learn from Mark how he goes about choreographing and teaching his celebs and if Alan is smart he will be sure to give all the credit for great routines to Mark even if he gets to perform them.
I hope Mark gets to dance with Paige the rest of the season as well.
It would be a shame if he couldn’t after his thrill at getting her as his partner.
Shirley Tweeted that he’s looking good, after a fan asked her.
Well said, Jess (the old lady one). What a great learning opportunity for Alan and Haley, and a chance to be gracious about Mark’s unfortunate injury. I join everyone else in hoping Mark heals quickly. Back injuries are difficult under the best conditions, so trying to dance with one must be really tricky. Whew, good luck Mark!
Good luck to Mark and Paige! I’m sure Mark, and the DWTS medical team, are taking this injury seriously and I don’t want him back until it’s safe and even prudent to dance again.
That said, I’m excited to see the fantastic, creative, difficult routines Mark Ballas will be inspired to create for his friend and dancing partner Paige! And I hope to see Mark back on the ballroom floor performing with her!
Idk why anyone would think that Alan would just step in and take over. We’ve seen this kind of thing happen several times. Other than Peta sitting out last season, I can’t think of one instance where a pro just dropped out and let someone else take over.
This is gonna be another Derek/Nastia/Sasha situation, where Derek couldnt dance, but was still at every rehearsal teaching Nastia, choreographing and in charge of everything. Mark will do the same if he can’t dance. I’m sure ANY PRO in this situation wouldnt just abandon their partner with somebody else, so it’s ridiculous of some people to expect Mark to do that. But I really really hope Mark gets better and is able to dance with Paige for the rest of the season! The way things look right now, both Mark and Lindsay have a great chance of going all the way…
Heh! 😉 After seeing Henry’s devious attempt to undermine Derek, Mark’s making darn sure everyone knows who Paige’s real partner is. Good for him!!!
I really want to see Mark out on the dance floor with Paige, but he needs to be sensible and not rush things, especially since this is apparently another flare-up of his ongoing (and worsening?) back problems. An aggressive dance like Paso might not be a good thing to do at this point. Perhaps he should let Alan grab a bit more dance floor glory on Monday night, but maintain a strong presence during the week on social media and in the ballroom during the show.
Paige can do the do with Alan if that’s what she wants, but for dancing she’d better play it smart and stick like glue to Mark. No way can Alan stand up to this season’s competition.
I am really hoping Mark can dance but I agree with Cidra The paso is not very back friendly. As much as I want to see MARK dance this season I don’t want it at the expense of his health and career. Back injuries are nothing to mess with. At bare MINIMUM he should be choreographing. I know Mark won’t stand for any nonsense from Alan and if TPTB are smart they won’t either.
Praying that Mark recovers quickly and thoroughly and that the drama be minimal if not non existent
First post updated!
And keeps fingers crossed Mark is able to dance with Paige too!!!
I’m so glad that Mark is feeling better! I really hope he can dance Monday night, but I’m praying that anything he does won’t hurt himself more, and I hope the package doesn’t blow anything out of proportion or overplay Alan or Hayley’s role.
I do have to say, though, having another girl in rehearsal could be really helpful for Paige. Say what one will about Hayley’s ability to ballroom dance or not, sometimes it’s easier to understand the femininity of dance from a girl (see Aly and Mark’s side-by-side challenge in S16 and that package). I think Jenna would have been bettter from the ballroom perspective, but I know Jenna has the other project going on right now.
I really hope his injury is not too serious and he’s able to FULLY recover not just for Monday’s dance, but for the rest of the season. Back pain sucks and can get worse from doing the simplest of things, like just bending down to pick something up, believe me I have sciatica and I’m pretty sure its not as bad as doing crazy lifts with someone like Paige who is definitely all muscle.
I hope the decision lies with Mark and Mark solely and no pressure from TPTB. God forbid if we do have a Derek/Nastia/Sasha situation, I don’t think I’d be able to watch DWTS because there are many other pros with experience that could come in rather than Alan(nothing against him, I just think he’s a bit immature…like a kid in a candy shop). But, I don’t want to think about such a scenario.
Prayers for Mark.
I hope Mark can dance Monday. They already have enough odds stacked against them although it seems like they will overcome them. I’ve read on other websites and people who are commenting don’t seem to have any sympathy for Mark. Someone even accused him of faking the injury for attention and votes which I know is not true. I have a feeling that Paige’s fanbase may be growing after all…
EmnEm Whatever Alan’s faults, he came thru for Paige, and now the two of them have a bond. The last thing Paige needs is yet another new partner. I pray that Mark will dance, but if not, I think he’ll be able to get the performance he wants from Alan.
Alan should follow the example of Sasha Farber. He helped Nastia when Derek was injured. Sasha is the ultimate team player. After every dance with Nastia, Sasha tweeted asking for support for Nastia & Derek. He never made it about him. The credit went to Nastia & Derek. As a result of his working with “Houghkin”, Sasha had the opportunity to learn from the show’s best choreographer, teacher and person. I’m sure Sasha is applying all this knowledge in his journey with Kim. Sasha’s unselfishness and humble attitude gained him a lot of respect from his DWTS family. Remember Nastia’s previous rehearsal partner (who thought he knew better) is now off the show.
Good for Paige that she accepted the situation so well. A lot of people would get “freaked out” by dancing with someone new on such short notice. Different body type and different overall style. It didn’t throw Paige in the least. I like this little firecracker! Get well soon Mark!
Get well soon Mark. Sending prayers and healing thoughts your way in case you are reading this. Mark is the pro and I am sure he will remain the pro and deal with the situation whether he dances with Paige or someone else has to step in. I continue to be VERY disappointed in Alan’s response and frankly it will taint my view of him for a long time to come. Maybe he is simply immature but his response was just simply uncalled for.
I don’t understand why people are so down on Alan. I agree that he should have given more credit to Paige and Mark, but I don’t get why everyone is so upset. He said that he does feel bad that Mark couldn’t dance. My biggest problem is people on other sites that are so down on Mark also and does not believe that he is really injured and believes that he is faking and making it up to get the votes. I know for a fact that Mark would never do something like that. Besides, there no way that you can fake an injury this serious. Good thing Alan stepped up.
@CH, you’re beyond confusing. You are probably the biggest Mark stan here, you wring your hands about Mark & Paige getting “screwed” by TPTB, and you get mad when you think people are “underestimating” Paige & Mark…
…and now here you are, defending ALAN, who rather unprofessionally handled partnering Paige on Monday night by basically stepping all over “ya boy” Mark’s toes, and are looking down your nose at those of us who dare to expect more respect for Mark.
Dude, decide whose team you’re on. And yes, you’ve already mentioned multiple times the “nasty” things other sites are saying about Mark, which only further begs the question: why the hell are you taking aim at us?
I hope Mark gets better and the all clear to dance 🙂 . I also love how Paige is handling this situation too becuase I could only imagine how nervous she must have been after Mark hurt himself.
I’m not too worried about Mark from a status stand point – I mean, when was the last time HENRY was on this show, eh?? 😀 Alan best mind his P’s and Q’s.
CH has probably been banned at all the other sites, Court. We keep him around as our pet nutbar.
But seriously, this is a clear case of when stans become trolls.
PH #22. This is what happened if you go “on the other sites”. You got confused. It’s the case of crossitis 🙂 Sorry, I watched too much Doc Mcstuffins with my niece today 😀
Thanks for posting this update. I having been hoping you all would post something once you had more info. I was trying to figure out if no official word or anything from Mark on Twitter other than “icing” late last night was because it wa buildup for Monday night or up in the air. Seems like the latter.
And let’s be real Alan was so good because he was dancing Mark’s choreography. Alan ain’t Sasha.
Certainly hope Mark heals and is able to dance. I haven’t always been his biggest fan but I think he’s matured both professionally and personally the last few seasons and that Paige is a great partner for him… Like Court said “a dream partner “
😀 PH (#22), Reminds me of a saying my hubby and I have used over the years: “yeah, he’s a weasel, but he’s *our* weasel.”
Well said, Linz (#16). If we end up with a Mark-Paige-Alan situation, I hope Alan is smart enough to take this opportunity to learn from a very creative, very successful seasoned pro like Mark, the way Sasha did when he pitched in to help Nastia and Derek. However, cynical me thinks there are way more Henrys in Hollywood than Sashas. Also, thanks for reminding me how much credit Paige deserves. She handled what must have been an unsettling situation like a trooper and rose to the occasion brilliantly (in Week 2, no less). This young woman has steady nerves and true grit! I like that a lot.
The producers will milk this storyline for all it’s worth. My guess is that she’ll dance last and they’ll tease “will Mark dance?” for the whole show. Gone is the football rivalry storyline for one week. Ok gotta admit, I want to see Mark back but I also would dig a week or two of Alan just because yes it keeps things interesting. I think it will ultimately get Paige more votes to be in the middle of all of this.
They would milk this if it were the celeb, Jamie, but not for Mark. Why would they? It serves no purpose. If they put Paige last it’s because they’ve saddled her with shitty running order the first two weeks – it’s TIME. She had the best dance last week (MARK’S Choreo and training) and she should have been last then.
When Derek was injured in Season 20, they didn’t dance last until the week they were eliminated. And the producers knew when they set the line up that Nastia was eliminated. Oddly, they also had Willow dance last the week she was eliminated that season. I just noticed that when I was looking.
PH Curious why TPTB would “waste” the pimp spot on someone who is leaving.
It will be interesting to see what they do with Paige this week since I think her dance will be the fiercest and probably most powerful. Hard to imagine Doug, for example, following that.
Beats the hell out of me, Suzy. They only did it those two times that season, so it’s not like a trend or anything. I seem to recall they were the legit best dances of the week. Willow’s was the futuristic Jazz and Nastia’s was the dance with Len. Both had good reason to go last.
@PH (and Suzy) – When Nastia danced last they had a Results Show that week, so they actually didn’t know that she was eliminated. That being said, I seem to recall Rumer (who danced first) having long packages, etc. and then the show conveniently “didn’t have enough time” to give the same to Nastia at the end.
As for Willow, that was dance-off week, so dancing last wasn’t quite the pimp spot it normally is. Also, that was Eras Night and the dances were all put in chronological order of their “era”, so it’s likely that the dance-order for that week was set very early on.
@PH and Jamie – While I don’t think they’ll milk the “will Mark dance” thing much, I do think the current situation with Mark and the one with Derek in Season 20 are a bit different. Correct me if I’m wrong on this, but I think it was pretty well known from the get-go that Derek was going to be out at least a week or two, whereas Mark’s status is much more unknown.
The original point was about TPTB “milking” Mark’s injury and putting Paige last. My point was that it didn’t happen when Derek was injured – he and Nastia didn’t dance last (while he was injured) until the week she was eliminated. It also still holds that the logical reason for them going last was was her dance with Len. Rumer did have VERY long packages – but then, she always did. Famous parents will get you far.
As for Willow – that was just a throwaway observation that she danced last on the night she was eliminated and had little to do with it being a “pimp spot” or not.
I’m not sure how that matters, Sonic.
I agree with Colleen. I rather not have Mark back until he fully recovers. I hope he rests, heals and comes back to give ’em hell!!!
@sonic I think the “unknown status” thing makes a good reality TV storyline, whether it is the celeb or pro. Will be interesting to see how they portray it all on Monday.
Been stalking Mark on his snapchat. Glad he’s back in rehearsals but agree with Lady Ebet. Though I would feel so bad because I feel like he has been waiting for a partner like this and whenever Mark gets a willing and talented partner…TPTB end up giving him the short end of the stick and they get eliminated.
The conspiracy theorist inside of me got to thinking.
Maybe TPTB want to shift the dynamic of the show. What if true original PROS like Mark, Derek, Cheryl, Kym, Karina, etc. …once their contracts are up…start choreographing for couples. Kind of like SYTYCD. Where they design the whole dance, concept, choreo and train. And then stand up in the skybox and root on their couples.
So technically there wouldn’t be any couples…more like 3-member-teams.
A professional dancer like Alan (just there for the dance)
A celebrity partner
and then the Famous Choreographer aka original pros like Mark
…ok I think I may have sipped too much coffee this morning. lol
@EmnEm, I don’t think TPTB have any interest in changing the dynamic of the show to a coach and couple concept, and even if they did, I can’t see the pros you named being at all interested in that model. Why would they want to do all the work and then let someone else have the fun of performing?
I actually like that idea quite a bit, EmnEm. But I confess I would pay money to see Derek choreographing for Val on a full time basis. LOL.
Please pardon my ignorance, but what does “stan’ stand for? I certainly get the connotation, but not the denotation, if there is one! Thanks!
I hope Mark waits until his injury is healed before coming back, but I hope it’s soon! I think Paige could be in the top 3 if so!
Meggie,
From the Urban Dictionary:
Based on the central character in the Eminem song of the same name, a “stan” is an overzealous maniacal fan for any celebrity or athlete.
Cidra, thanks so much! Yup, there are some stans out there all right!
@PH: My check to see that is on my desk…signed, sealed, and ready to be delivered! 😛