Longtime “Dancing With the Stars” pro Mark Ballas shared the real reason that he agreed to compete on season 31 following a lengthy hiatus.
Ballas had joined the cast of “Kinky Boots” on Broadway and appeared to be leaving his DWTS days in the past, especially during and after the pandemic. However, when he got a call from executive producer Deena Katz in 2022, he was open to listening to an offer to return.
“I was just like, ‘hey, Deena, what’s up?’ She said, ‘I’d love to get on a call with you.’ And I was like, ‘sure.’ And that was when I first found out that Conrad was coming back, Ballas said on the November 26 episode of the “Lightweights” podcast.
Conrad Green is an executive producer on “Dancing With the Stars.” He left the show in 2014, according to Deadline, and returned in 2022.
“When I heard Conrad was coming back, I was like, I’m interested, you know, because I just love Conrad. He gets the show. He’s great,” the ballroom pro explained.
“I was down, you know. And my wife and I were trying for a family at the time. And, you know, we were having some downtime and I was like, ‘okay, I’ll do it,'” Ballas added.
He ended up dancing with TikTok star Charli D’Amelio and the two won the Mirrorball Trophy together.
Mark Ballas Unofficially Retired From ‘Dancing With the Stars’
Following his season 31 return to DWTS, Ballas seemed to be content with moving on from the show. During a stop on the DWTS Live Tour in Los Angeles in 2023, Ballas told the crowd that he wouldn’t be dancing in that capacity anymore.
In a video that a fan uploaded to X, Ballas can be heard telling the live audience that he wasn’t planning to return to the reality dance competition show.
“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 said.
“This is the last time I’ll be dancing with a partner,” he added.
Mark Ballas Returned for Season 33 as a Guest Judge & He Performed With Derek Hough on the Finale
Ballas’ future with “Dancing With the Stars” remains unclear. However, he isn’t ready to completely shut the door on the show.
On season 33, Ballas was invited to sit in as a guest judge and he received a great deal of praise for the critiques he offered to the dancers.
“It was an honor to be at the judges table last night, After 20 seasons as a competitor I feel like I’ve done it all, but some how this little ballroom dancing show we all love still had a new experience up its sleeve for me. I thoroughly enjoyed watching all the dancing & I truly hope I gave the couples some tips to take with them as they move into the next phase of the competition,” he captioned an Instagram post on October 16.
In an interview with TV Insider, Ballas said he’d be open to joining the judges’ panel on a full-time basis.
“If they would have me? Of course! It would be fun,” he told the outlet.
In addition to flexing his judging prowess, Ballas also returned to the show to perform an Argentine Tango alongside Derek Hough. The dance has reached 1 million views on YouTube.
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Mark Ballas Explains Why He Left DWTS & Why He Returned