ABC/Andrew Eccles Mark Ballas DWTS
Mark Ballas is a popular pro dancer on “Dancing With the Stars,” but his return for season 31 came after a long hiatus.
According to Us Weekly, Ballas first appeared on the show in season five back in 2007 and competed for a total of 19 seasons. He won two mirrorball trophies early on, then left the celebrity ballroom show in 2017 to focus on his career as a musician. Ballas and his wife, BC Jean, perform together as the musical duo Alexander Jean, per Billboard.
For his return to “DWTS,” Ballas, 36, is partnered with TikTok star Charli D’Amelio. The 18-year-old specializes in short freestyle dance videos and comes with a huge social media following – her TikTok account boasts 147 million followers alone — which could translate into a huge “DWTS” voting fan base.
On the “DWTS” premiere, the judges raved about the duo’s cha cha, with veteran Carrie Ann Inaba saying, “Season 31 just got real hot, real quick. The nuances – you are such a nuanced performer … it was kind of amazing. Now I get it. TikTok, welcome to Disney+.”
So perhaps it’s no wonder that Ballas decided to get into the TikTok game by joining the platform himself and posting his very first video.
Here’s what you need to know:
Mark Ballas’ First TikTok Video Featured Charli D’Amelio
Ballas has a way to go to catch up to his “DWTS” partner’s follower count. His recently-opened TikTok account has 4,200 followers as of this writing.
Ballas’ first TikTok was a vlog that he titled, “My life the last few weeks.” A montage of footage showed him and D’Amelio in a rehearsal hall after they first met.
“Hey, it’s me, I’m back,” Ballas said in the clip.
There was also footage of the two at the airport, hanging out in a dressing room, eating pizza – with a cameo by Charlie’s mom, Heidi, who is also a “DWTS” contestant – as well as their view from an airplane. Ballas also shared a night out with friends, a long-haired, bleary-eyed mirror selfie, as well as more rehearsal footage and a final shot of him and D’Amelio performing in the “Dancing With the Stars” ballroom.
Fans hit the comment section to react to Ballas’ first video.
“So happy to have you back on the show,” one fan wrote.
“dwts is SOO lucky to have you back – happy to see you more active Mark, and can’t wait for that new album too,” another wrote.
“MARK IS BACK LIFE IS GOOD,” another fan wrote.
“The earth is finally healing with mark being back,” another wrote.
“Yay markkk! You are my fav from DWTS… so happy you’re back. And Charli is just so sweet and humble. A great pairing!” another fan wrote.
Another fan called Ballas and D’Amelio “the best duo ever.”
Mark Ballas Also Recently Returned to Instagram & Twitter
Idk it sounded like fun.. Lets go Charls
@charlidamelio 💃🏻
Just in time for his return to “Dancing With the Stars,” Ballas returned to both Instagram and Twitter after a social media hiatus.
On September 12, 2022, he teased his partnership with D’Amelio on Twitter by sharing their cast photo and the caption, “Idk it sounded like fun…Lets go Charls @charlidamelio.”
His last post before that was in November 2021.
Ballas had a similarly long hiatus on Instagram. While he hasn’t posted on his main page since November 2021, he began posting again just ahead of the “DWTS” premiere week. One post teased a new album coming out for Alexander Jean, and he also shared the same video he posted on TikTok, but in the caption, he went into detail about exactly what he has been doing over “the last few weeks.”
Ballas noted that he met D’Amelio, then flew to New York City to appear on the “DWTS” cast reveal on “Good Morning America.” He also hung out with a castmate from the “Jersey Boys” musical he appeared in on Broadway and went to another musical while in the Big Apple and danced with both his mom Shirley Ballas and fellow “DWTS” pro, Daniella Karagach. He also went to a camera rehearsal, wrote a new song for Alexander Jean, and threw confetti to close out his video.
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