Mark Ballas may be booked and busy — but he’s not ruling out a return to Dancing With the Stars.
“Oh, I’m open,” Mark, 40, exclusively told Us about the possibility the dancer would return as a pro on the hit reality competition series. “I mean, it just depends. The show has their system that they go through and they’re deeply in the casting process right now. They just announced we’re getting a two-day premiere. We haven’t had that in a long time, so that’s pretty exciting. But yeah, we’ll see.”
Mark joined DWTS as a pro in 2007 and has since won the Mirrorball Trophy three times. After a few brief hiatuses, Mark returned for season 34 last year and placed sixth with The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ Whitney Leavitt.
As his future for season 35 remains up in the air, Mark has taken a seat on the judges panel for Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro. The spinoff series centers around 12 contestants competing for a spot on DWTS as a pro and receiving feedback from Mark, mom Shirley Ballas and a rotating guest judge.
For Mark, sharing his dance “knowledge” is something he enjoys — and wouldn’t rule out doing so permanently on DWTS. (Mark has also served as a guest judge on the ABC reality show, which he told Us was a “good time” spent alongside pal and DWTS judge Derek Hough.)
“I enjoy teaching. I enjoy giving anything I can to the new generation to help. Some of the younger pros know that I’m always a phone call away and I’m always down to help and in whatever capacity I can,” he said. “So if that means being a judge one day, absolutely. Whatever the show wants to do. We’ll see what comes along in the future. I really enjoyed that side of it.”
He continued, “But, I also do love creating and choreographing and the musical side of it. That’s kind of my favorite part — is being able to use my imagination to help bring things to life. But yeah, I’m definitely open to that.”
Beyond the screen, he has also channeled his talent on Broadway. Mark, who told Us he’s been a part of musical theatre since he was “young,” had a box office record-breaking stint as Billy Flynn in Chicago earlier this year and starred opposite Whitney. He has now returned to the stage for a limited time, wrapping up on August 16.
“I feel like Chicago is one of those shows that you kind of start learning when you’re young. I was learning these songs when I was a kid,” he recalled to Us. “Fast forward, I don’t know, 30 years later, to be playing Billy Flynn — like the guy — it’s a very full circle moment. Very, very, very honored.”
