Mark Ballas
Mark Ballas Jr. joins “Dancing with the Stars” this year as the partner for Cheetah Girl Sabrina Bryan. Even though Mark is only 21 years old, he brings with his a impressive dance history.
Mark was born in Houston, Texas, but his family moved to London when he was still very young. Mark comes from a dancing family – his parents Corky and Shirley were international Dancesport champions in the UK in the 1990s. When he was four, Mark began training for singing, dancing and acting when he was enrolled in the Italia Conti Academy of Dramatic Arts associate school. At age 10, Mark became the British Juvenile Ballroom and Latin American dancing champion. By age 11, Mark had earned a full time place at the Academy. At age 12, he began writing songs and singing his own music.
Later, he became the British Open to the World, the US Open to the World, and the International Open to the World Junior Latin American champion. His partner was Julianne Hough, who will also appear on this season’s “Dancing with the Stars” with her partner two-time Indy 500 champ Helio Castroneves. Mark and Julianne also won gold medals at the 2003 Junior Olympics.
Mark won a full scholarship to college and graduated in 2005. Mark played the lead character, Tony, in the Barry Manilow musical Copacabana. He has been the lead dancer in the UK National Tour of the Spanish musical Maria de Buenos Aires. He also was the musician and understudy of the roles for Ritchie Valens and Jerry Allison in the UK National Tour of the musical Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story.
Along with his best friend Derek Hough, Mark formed the band Almost Amy. He plays several instruments including the guitar, bass, and drums.
You can learn more about Mark from his MySpace page or the page for Almost Amy.
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