Heavy/ABC/Getty Fans are voicing their frustration in support of one DWTS pro dancer.
“Dancing with the Stars” fans are speaking up in support of a fan-favorite professional dancer they think got passed over for an award opportunity recently. The nominations for the 2023 Emmy Awards were announced on July 12, and one category provides an opportunity for DWTS pros to receive recognition for their choreography. While Variety reported that judge and former contestant Derek Hough did receive a nomination, Mark Ballas did not. It did not take long for many fans to express their disappointment over this across social media.
Here’s what you need to know:
Mark Ballas’ Submissions Did Not Earn Him an Emmy Nomination
The Emmy Awards category that “Dancing with the Stars” fans hoped would include Ballas’ name was the one for outstanding choreography for variety or reality programming. Variety detailed that two of the nominations went to “Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration,” and another went to “Encanto at the Hollywood Bowl.”
A fourth nod was to “Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 4,” and the final nomination was for Hough. His nomination was for the routine “Higher,” a number performed while Michael Buble sang. Hough’s fiancee, former “Dancing with the Stars” troupe member Hayley Erbert, performed with him, as did the other pro dancers from the season. While Hough received numerous messages of congratulations across social media, the fact that Ballas was left without a nomination ruffled plenty of feathers.
“Was Mark not nominated for any of his routines? Because that’s an actual crime,” noted one fan on the “Dancing with the Stars” Instagram post highlighting Hough’s nomination.
Another disappointed fan responded, “100% agree – @markballas absolutely killed it, over and over and over. He deserves the recognition!”
Ballas Was Nominated for an Emmy Once Before
As the Emmy Awards site notes, Ballas was nominated once before, much earlier in his “Dancing with the Stars” career. Three routines of his were noted for the outstanding choreography category that year: the jive “Write Sins Not Tragedies,” the Viennese waltz “Hedwigs Theme (Theme from Harry Potter,” and a slow waltz to “My Love.” According to People, those nominations came from season 12 when Ballas partnered with Chelsea Kane. The couple landed in third place, behind runner-ups Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Kirstie Alley, and winners Kym Johnson and Hines Ward, per The Los Angeles Times.
That year, Ballas was the only “Dancing with the Stars” performer to be nominated for an Emmy. The rest of the category, per the Emmys Awards site, consisted of choreographers from “So You Think You Can Dance.” Nods went to Stacey Tookey, Travis Wall, Mandy Jo Moore, Mia Michaels, and the duo of Tabitha and Napoleon D’umo. The Hollywood Reporter shared that Michaels won the Emmy.
“Dancing with the Stars” fans may have felt Ballas deserved the Emmy nod this time for a couple of very good reasons, in addition to simply loving the choreography he created for D’Amelio. For one thing, he won season 31 with D’Amelio. For another, Ballas officially announced his retirement after winning the mirror-ball trophy.
“Mark Ballas not getting an Emmy nomination for his work with Charli is absolutely INSANE. That man stays getting snubbed. Hate that for him,” tweeted a supporter.
“Wait….DID MARK BALLAS NOT GET A CHOREOGRAPHY #EMMY NOM??!!! PLEASE TELL ME I’M MISSING SOMETHING HERE NO NO NO,” read another Twitter post.
“Has Mark Ballas really not been nominated since Chelsea Kane’s season? I think his & Charli’s free/contemp/v.waltz were submitted. Their foxtrot/tango were standouts, too. An absolutely perfect body of work that deserved to be recognized,” someone else stated.