ABC "Dancing With the Stars" professional dancers
A longtime ”Dancing with the Stars” pro dancer’s mom said she’d be open to doing the show – and she definitely has the experience.
Mark Ballas was a regular pro dancer on the ABC celebrity ballroom competition for 10 years, from 2007 to 2017, and he was partnered with everyone from Kim Kardashian to Bristol Palin. He also won mirrorball trophies with Olympians Kristi Yamaguchi and Shawn Johnson, per Entertainment Tonight.
Ballas’ dancer dad, Corky, who once trained some of his fellow DWTS pro dancers including Derek and Julianne Hough, was cast as a pro dancer for two seasons, with celebrity partners Cloris Leachman and “Brady Bunch” mom Florence Henderson.
But there’s one family member who has yet to grace ABC’s ballroom as a pro or a judge — but that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t do it if asked.
Shirley Ballas Said She Would Join DWTS if Producers Ever Ask Her
GettyBruno Tonioli and Shirley Ballas
Corky Ballas was married to Mark’s mom, Shirley, from 1985 to 2007. In a July 2022 interview with The Daily Mail, Shirley was asked about her experience as a dancer and if she would ever consider joining “Dancing With the Stars” despite the fact that she lives in England.
“I never say never to anything that’s offered it’s just whether it gets offered or not,” she revealed, adding, “My son lives in the US, in California where it’s filmed.”
Shirley added that she lived in the United States for 11 years ”down the road” from her famous son and that she only moved back to the U.K. when she was offered a job.
“Yeah I love being back because I have all my friends, a lot of my work is over here [in England], but it’s a heartstring tug not being over there,” she said of the U.S.
Shirley Ballas is a Judge on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’
Shirley did not reveal if she would want to join DWTS as a judge or a mentor. The 61-year-old retired from competitive dancing in 1996, according to Hello! In 2017, she replaced DWTS judge Len Goodman as the head judge on the UK dance competition, “Strictly Come Dancing.”
Before that, Shirley did appear on “Dancing with the Stars” as a guest in 2009, per IMDb, but “Strictly” was her first major television gig.
“‘Strictly’ was my first job in TV ever,” she told Hello. “Mark called me every day for those four months, and he and Derek Hough were brilliant at helping me deal with some of the more challenging aspects of being in the press.”
As for her judging style, Shirley admitted that she comes off as “strict” but that her goal is to inspire the contestants with her feedback.
“If I ask them to do something and they don’t deliver it the following week I’m not going to tell them that it’s ok, I’m not that kind of judge. I will be expecting things from them and I hope that they will be expecting things from me, to be as honest and as forthright as I can to help them become the best dancer they can be,” she revealed.
The 30th season of “Dancing With the Stars” featured “Strictly Come Dancing” alums Bruno Tonilio and Len Goodman at the judges’ table, as well as Carrie Ann Inaba and Derek Hough. The show will move to Disney Plus this fall.
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