Getty Images Mark Ballas shares details of new project.
Retired “Dancing With the Stars” pro Mark Ballas shared some exciting news with fans on January 10, 2024. The pro dancer took to Instagram to reveal that he worked with film director John Musker on a new project — and that it may be nominated for an Oscar.
“John reached out to me to help with the choreography for his latest project ‘I’m Hip’ which was a return to his animation roots, we had a total blast coming up with the movement for this Jazz cat & the other characters in this short,” Ballas shared on Instagram.
Ballas tapped the talented Daniella Karagach to work with him on the project as well.
“I also brought in the lovely @daniellakaragach to partner which made the process even more fun,” he said.
Karagach took to the comments section to thank Ballas for including her.
“So much fun. Thank you for bringing me into this amazing project,” she wrote.
Here’s what you need to know:
Fans Reacted to Mark Ballas’ News on Instagram
It’s an exciting time for Ballas as he ventures into some new areas of his career. Perhaps the most exciting thing about his new project is the fact that the short film could be nominated for an Oscar.
“We recently found out that ‘Im Hip’ is in the top 15 animated short films to possibly be nominated for an Oscar. Only 5 films of the 15 will make the cut & voting starts tmrw,” Ballas wrote on Instagram.
Fans reacted to Ballas’ news in the comments section of his post.
“Congratulations! This is so cool! You are always finding amazing experiences that shares your talents. You and Daniella are perfect for this,” one person wrote.
“Of course he’s ask you!!! You’re the perfect candidate to make his visions come true! Congrats,” someone else added.
“How cool is that! What a fun project,” a third comment read.
“That’s awesome! thank you for sharing it with us,” a fourth Instagram user said.
Mark Ballas Retired From ‘Dancing With the Stars’ in 2023
Ballas competed on several seasons of “Dancing With the Stars” after joining the program in 2007. He has three Mirrorball Trophies under his belt, with his most recent coming on season 31 alongside Charli D’Amelio.
Shortly after the season was over, Ballas shared his decision to retire from the show. Although he never made a formal announcement, he did share the news during a stop on the “Dancing With the Stars” live tour.
“I just want to finish this by saying that this will be the last time you see me dance in this capacity. I’m coming to a close tonight; this is gonna be my last dance. I had the best time ever this season, and this freestyle was a great way to finish it off. … Thank you guys for a lifetime of memories,” he told the audience in Los Angeles back in March 2023. A video of his announcement was shared on X.
Ballas returned to the ballroom for the Len Goodman tribute and to dance on the finale with D’Amelio.
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