Mark Ballas

Mark Alexander Ballas Jr. (born May 24, 1986) is an American dancer. Ballas is a professional ballroom dancer on the ABC program Dancing with the Stars. He began competing on the show in the fall of 2007. He was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Choreography in 2011. He is also a singer/songwriter/musician and released his first solo CD HurtLoveBox in March 2011. Ballas was born in Houston, Texas, the son of dancers Corky Ballas and Shirley Ballas (née Rich). His paternal grandparents were of Mexican, Spanish, and Greek background, and his mother is British. His paternal grandfather, George Ballas, was the inventor of the Weed Eater lawn-trimming device. Ballas attended Rosemead Preparatory school in South London, and was in the same year as acclaimed British ballet dancer Max Westwell of the English National Ballet. At the age of 11, he earned a full-time slot at the Academy, as well as earning a full scholarship to the college. 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