Off The Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe - Mark Ballas | Ballroom, Broadway & Beyond the Mirrorball!

Episode Date: July 30, 2026

#967. Mirrorball champion, Broadway leading man, musician, and now Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro judge... Mark Ballas joins Kaitlyn for a conversation that goes way beyond the ballroom!Fresh off seeing Mark star in Chicago on Broadway, Kaitlyn sits down with him to talk about growing up in one of dance's most legendary families, moving from England to chase his dream, and how that journey led him to become one of Dancing with the Stars' most beloved pros. They also get into his new role on The Next Pro, Broadway life, and why performing live still gives him the same rush after all these years.Plus, Mark opens up about life offstage, from making music with his wife BC Jean to becoming a dad and the creative life they've built together. It's funny, nostalgic, inspiring, and full of stories you've probably never heard before.Whether you're a longtime Dancing with the Stars fan or just love hearing how creative people think, this episode is packed with laughs, behind-the-scenes moments, and plenty of surprises!If you’re LOVING this podcast, please follow and leave a rating and review below! PLUS, FOLLOW OUR PODCAST INSTAGRAM HERE!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You're listening to Off The Vine with Caitlin Bristow. Hey, everybody, welcome to Off the Vine. I'm your host, Caitlin Bristow. I'm hi for today's guest. He has spent pretty much his whole life performing. He grew up in one of the most legendary dance families in the world, became a three-time mirror ball champion on Dancing with the Stars, and has built his career that stretches far beyond the ballroom.

I went and saw him in Chicago the other night as Billy Flynn. It was amazing. And then he's also stepping into a whole new role as a judge on Dancing with the Stars, The Next Pro. If you're not watching, go back and catch up. It's so fun to watch. He's helping shape the next generation of ballroom talent alongside someone he knows pretty well, his mom. So today we're talking Broadway, Dancing with the Stars, Fatherhood, Creativity, Music,

and what's next for one of the most versatile performers out there? So please welcome Mark Ballas. Do you, are you like a sentimental person? Yes. You definitely hang on to things from where do you keep it. I'm not a hoarder, but I am. Okay. Well, borderline.

Yeah. You're not going to let rats crawl around. No, no, no. It's all very organized. Yeah, there you know. But it's, yeah, like if it holds any sort of weight. Yeah. Or of like, what's that like say?

What's that, like, what's that, um, quote? I think it's Marie Kondo, like, if it brings you joy. Yes. You know, and I find joy in, in memories. And, and music and record, I collected records as a kid that was like one of my favorite things to do was collect CDs. And like, I would save up for weeks to be able to buy these CDs, you know. And I still have all of them in like a plastic.

Not that anyone used CDs anymore, but I couldn't let them go. That's a collector's item. Yeah, no, yeah. Like I have an original, this is really deep cut. I have an original 1999 self-titled Slipknot CD signed by them. You do? Yeah, I waited in line outside HMV to get Slipknot signatures. Oh, that's so cute.

I was like 12 or 13. Oh my gosh. I was such a, like I was such an emo kid. Me too. I loved, I had a skateboard even though I did. I did not have write it, but I wanted to pretend I did because I was. It was more of a roller blader. I was big on the rollerblades.

You were? I had the K2 fatties. Oh, yeah. I loved it. Me and Derek used to skate together all the time. Okay, you know, it's so funny. I knew you and Derek were friends, but Derek interviewed you after your performance in Chicago the other night,

and I was there, which we'll talk about. Yeah. And I didn't know you guys went that far back. Oh, that far back. 30 years now. 30 years this year, yeah. Was there ever a time where you guys were like rivalries and you were like so competitive?

Never, always just friends. That's my brother. Yeah, yeah. Blood couldn't make us closer. Wow. I mean, like, we know how to compete, obviously. But he was also older than me, so we weren't always competing against each other on the floor. Like, he was always, like, one step ahead.

Yeah. We competed against each other a couple times. But, like, we're buds. Yeah. You know, that's like, you know, that's my brother right there. I don't know how I didn't know that. I knew you guys went back. I just didn't know how far back.

Yeah, yeah. And speaking of going far back, you got into theater when you were like, like four. Yes. Which blows my mind. I learned a lot about you at Chicago the other night. Okay. Oh, yeah.

Did you stay for the talk back? Yeah, did. Of course. It was actually really nice. I also love your and dares just dynamic of being friends up there. But I loved all your answers. But I feel like you also like you did, I don't know if you had a choice to be anything but a dancer.

It just runs deep in the blood of your family. It is. And you know, I did, I did have a choice. Because they didn't push me. Yeah. They did not. No. I was going to ask that because a lot of, I shouldn't just say.

but some families who are like deep into music or dance or whatever it is in their blood or athletes, I feel like sometimes it does get pushed on kids. Sure, yeah. But you just naturally fell in love with it. Yeah, I mean, I was always exposed to it. Yeah. Obviously, my mom danced with me in her belly until she was six months pregnant. And my mom and dad danced together, obviously.

So they were partners and, you know, world professional champions, all this. My dad was actually a pro on the show for two seasons. I found this out when I was doing my research. I literally have, your dad's name is quirky, which is so cute. Yeah. He was one of the original Dancing with the Stars Pro's. Yep. Yep.

What year was that? Oh, man. I can never remember. Was it like 2004? It was a little later than that because it was like my third season. So probably like, I want to say 2007, eight maybe around that time. Wait, you were on the same time your dad was in? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Was that crazy? He beat me too the first time. That's crazy. No, yeah. Yeah, as he should. Yes, yes, yes, of course, as he should, but I didn't know this. Yeah, yeah. You guys competed together on Dancing with the Stars, your dad and father, son.

At the same time, yeah, yeah. Do people know this? Am I just crazy right now? I think our fans that have been with us for a long time would remember. I've been with you for a long time. I don't remember watching, like, back. But this is like the OG days. Yeah, I guess so.

Like, the show was, the show was big, but it was still like on its rise, you know. Okay, so you were obviously, okay, yeah, I'm very exposed to it. Yeah, so, you know, when I was born, obviously, my parents, who were very young, they had me they were 24, which is, which is wild. Like, back then it's, did you imagine? I could not. I have 24. Like, my, I'm 40 now.

My son's only two and a half, you know. But they did, they were still on that competitive, like, train, like, nonstop competing. So we moved to England because at the time was like a kind of a staple place to train in ballroom and Latin American dancing. Yeah. So my mom's mom, my nan, my British nan, she, while they competed, she took. care of me, you know, and she would take me to theater school on the weekends because I showed interest in music and I was around dancing and like, and then on vacations, I would travel with my parents to Japan, China, Australia, wherever they were competing, I would go with them.

And they would do these things called demonstrations where they like put on shows and I would cue their music from age six. So I knew like when my dad went like, yeah, I was like, and go. No way. Yeah, yeah. So you got to also travel. the world at a young age and like I feel like that makes sense for you. Yeah, I went around the world a lot with them when they were competing. Yeah. And when did your mom start training? Your mom is a queen, by the way.

Like she just has queen energy. She started training like Derek, Julianne, Val, Daniela. When was that? Well, yeah, I mean, both my parents trained me, Julianne, Derek. And then, yeah, my mom has trained Danny and Pasha, Val, a lot of the Utah kids as well. like that's what she does. That's her bread and butter. It's like, yeah, she's the head judge on Strickley.

And now we're getting to know her on Next Pro, which is really cool. But she's been about that life since she was like, you know, under 10. You know, she's been doing this for a long, long time. Which is why I feel like when she's hard on someone, I'm like, she's so allowed. I take everything that she says so seriously. Yeah. Because I'm like, this woman knows her shit, obviously. Well, yeah.

And the thing is, you know, it's interesting. Because the dance world, it is hard. It is tough. It does require brutally honest, constructive feedback. Like, you know, that's what was so great about her as a coach, is that even though it was direct, it was always constructive. And so helpful. It wasn't just, like, tearing you apart with no solution. Right.

Like, it was like, what I loved about her and my dad, my dad was great at this as well. It was always, like, leading with, hey, this was really good. This was not. This needs work from here. So it wasn't just like, you know. Yeah, let's kick your ass and then be like figure it out. Well, also I feel like there's such a role for judges on TV where it's like you like the Simon Cowell of every group.

Like it's you want that too. But when it's constructive like that, I remember when I was on Dancing with the Stars, everyone was like, Carrie Ann's so hard on you. And I was like, I love it. Yeah. I want somebody to be hard on me because I take that constructive criticism so seriously. Yeah. I wasn't on your season.

I know. I know you. I know you won, champ. Let's go. I won. It's pretty cool, man. Coolest thing that I've ever done in my whole life probably. Did you enjoy it? I did. So much so that I messaged Dina way too often being like, please do an all-star season. Even if I go home night one, I don't care, just want to be on that ballroom floor again. You know, they did it once.

And it did do well. I don't know if it, yeah, I don't think it did well. But that was back in the day. Yeah. And it could have been, was it a spring season? Maya, I don't remember that. I feel like the winter and the fall always just does better. I don't know. Like, I think they should do it.

But in my opinion, they should be all heavy hitters, like all people that can get down. Now, would you take only winners or just heavy hitters from each season? You could mix it up. I just think it should be really competitive. That would make it really fun. Yeah. No, I agree. And it's just so interesting because it is a voting show.

Yep. And so many of these people now that are on the show have so many Instagram followers or TikTok followers. It's a different time. Yeah, it's a different time. So it would be a different season for an all-star season. I mean, I would be terrified because I'd probably go home earlier just due to the numbers. You never know. You never know.

You never know. It's hard to predict. That's what makes a show fun. That's true. It's part of the gig. I have so many questions about Dancing with the Stars. I even want to know as a fan of the show still that I'm like, I should know this. But the behind the scenes of my season was so different because I was 2020.

Yeah. And it was like, I didn't even see producers faces. It was like, it was like the voice of God. Did you have a live audience? No. Oh, so it was during pandemic. Yes. And it was so different.

Yeah, you need to run it back. I know. The live audience is like the fans of the show like, wow, we just love them so much. They're so enthusiastic and the vibes they bring is incredible. Immaculate. It's incredible. Immaculate. I got to do when they announced me going on tour, I got to dance at the Janet Jackson night and that had a live audience.

And then I was there for Andy Rick. with the last season doing the competitive. I'm obsessive. Oh yeah, you dance with Andy. Yeah. You guys are so good. I thought we did the best we've ever done. But then I watch it back and I was like, oh, we are just like rushing to get through it.

But that's all that matters. Like as long as you get out there and that was the best you could do in that moment, that's, that's, that's the goal. Yeah. We were so happy. It only matters on show night. Truly. Yeah. It's the rush of the show and the fact that it's live and everything that goes.

It's like, I love going to the live tapings of it. So fun. It's just such a special show. It really is. Oh, it is, which we'll get to. I'm still on your mom. Yeah. I'm like going back to Shirley.

Was she hard on you or harder on you growing up as a coach or not really? No, no, no. She was. She was. Oh, yeah. My mom was a professional ballerina and she taught me dance growing up. Okay, great. And so you can relate.

Yes. And I, like, sometimes I would just, what I realized is, when she was teaching me dance, I was going through hormone changes and what is it called puberty. Puberty. Growing up. Growing up. Growing up.

While she was going through menopause. Okay. So could you imagine that level of, oh my gosh. Yeah. It's, I mean, yeah. She was tough for sure. But again, it's tough love. And I feel like she's consistently like that.

That's her teaching style. But the great thing about her is she's one of those coaches that can out dance. that's you. So meaning she can give a critique and then show you, because I'm a visual learner. Yes. You could talk to me all day, but I have to see it. Yeah. And even still to say, you know, she is in that studio with, she'll teach 10 lessons a day still to this day.

Really? Oh, yeah, because she loves it. And she is dancing. Yeah. Dancing with you, dancing opposite you, showing you, you know, these years and years of knowledge that she has built up over the years. But yeah, she was, she was a tough coach. But, you know, she produced results and is still producing results for all her couples.

But she and my dad, both of them, were excellent at when we got home. I was going to ask that. We could walk through the door and we could. I mean, there were days that, you know, if it was like, it was a bad result or it was a great result. Sure. But for most of the time, they were both great at like, we're out of the studio now. We're mom and dad now. Yeah.

They were great at that. That's so cool. Yeah, I wouldn't change the thing. I can't believe your mom still is doing it. Oh, loves it. Loves it. Even to the point where as her son, I can, I'm sometimes I'm like a little concerned. I'm like, mom, like, how many lessons did you teach you?

She's like, well, I just taught 14 lessons today. I only had 30 minutes for lunch. And I'm just like, mom, you don't. And she's like, but I love it, darling. I just love it. Wow. Well, you know what? Yes.

How old is your mom? 65. Imagine being 65 and loving what you do so much that you still do it all day, every day. And that's not just a mental workout for people. She is physically. She loves it. Wow. Yeah, even when she still does her lectures and demonstrations, you know, she'll dance for her students so you can see.

And like, it's still. She's got it. It's still in there, you know? She's got it. Wow. I feel like just the pressures of being a dancer, not only physically. Like we're just saying, it's mentally demanding. It's physically demanding.

It's emotionally demanding. It's everything. Emotionally demanding. Like, I only experienced it. Obviously, growing up, I danced until I was like 25. But I'd never done ballroom. And when I went into ballroom, I thought. thought, well, how much different can it be?

It's way harder. Yeah. It'll wake your ass up, huh? It kicked my ass. I mean, I think all the time, I'm like, I watch the way that Daniela's body moves and I just go, like, excuse my language, but how? No, no, she's a machine. Oh, everything. It's just like, I could watch her all day, every day.

I think my mom taught her from like, I want to say age nine. Like, they go way back. Wow. Her and Pasha. Yeah, yeah. I mean, they're just. They're beautiful together. Beautiful together.

Yeah. Great partner as well. When I got to tour on the Dancing with the SARS tour, I would just watch them on and off the stage. They are just a rock solid individually and then together. Yeah. Just good people. But yeah, they're watching them when they did that Argentine tango on the last tour. I want to say, I think it was like to a violin.

Oh, yes. Smooth criminal or something like that. I can't remember, but I watched. Beautiful. It really does. But it hurts my body watching her move. because, but does your body just get used to it? It does, you know.

And I was like, I'd cracked ribs. I'm like, couldn't breathe. Your body kind of adjusts. Like, it's funny. It's like, even if you don't dance for a while, you're, trust me, we're all sore and you feel it. But like, you know, you go do a different activity that you're only to say, you go play soccer one day or you go play a sport. Like, I went to play pickleball for once for, with some friends and I was so sore after that.

It's a different kind of sore. Different kind of sore. You know, it's different muscles. We've all been using those muscles for so long, you know. That's true. Not to say it hurts. No, it totally hurts because I also, how long is the longest you've spent in the studio on Dancing with the Stars? Because like, 16 hours.

16. And we didn't get to pick our hours during COVID because I think we had to get out of there after a certain. Yeah. It would go and go. Really? There was no one really saying, you guys should stop. What's the biggest difference from back in the day, Dancing Stars to Now? Now there's shifts.

You know, like it's like now you start on the four hours because all in one building. Yeah. Like back in the day it was all in different studios and you just kept going until you were ready, you know. And so to a point where you could be overdoing it. Yeah. But there's such little time. You know, I think now everyone's kind of learned how to be efficient with the time. Have they?

Because I'm like the amount of TikToks y'all are doing now and not learning the dance. I get there early and do that. Okay. I don't do that in my age. studio time. Okay, because I was thinking that when I was there practicing with Andy, I was like, are we going to do the dance or are we just going to keep doing TikToks? But then that works for Andy because people, you know, that he was just letting the people in on his. It depends on the partner, right? Like it just depends. But Whitney was probably all about TikTok. Oh, yeah. We would be. She was like, I have TikTok to make. I'm like, all right. I'll see you there 20 minutes early. Get them bang them out. Because we wanted to get them right. Yeah. Also, I asked you this when we were talking when I was there for. for Andy and you guys were there. I remember having a couple conversations with you. Now one was, where did your British accent go?

And I think I'm not the only one that wants to know that. It comes and goes, you know. Because you were there for, you grew up there. My whole life, yeah. It was there from four to 21. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm half British.

You know, I'm a dual citizen. Yeah. My dad's American. My dad comes from Greek and a Mexican Spanish bloodline. And then my mom is British. Yeah. So, you know, and the two sides of the pond, like when I'm at dad's family versus my mom's family.

The difference is wild. My dad's got five brothers and sisters. You know, my dad's name's Corky. He has a sister name Winky, Nini, Mimi, and Bucky. Stop it. I swear to God. Where do they grow? They're all in Houston, Texas.

Okay. But my grandfather was Greek and my grandmother was Spanish-Mexam. I'm obsessed with those names. Yeah, it's a Greek tradition to have these nicknames. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So his side of the family at Christmas was always, like, my grandmother was a flamenco dancer. Ah.

So she learned all that, you know, coming from her, Spanish, Mexican, indigenous roots. So she played the castanets and my dad is a flamenco player and my uncle played guitar. So Christmas is at their house was like a blast, you know. And then on my mom's side, it was just like my mom and my nan growing up. And, you know, we would like have tea and watch movies and stuff like that, you know. But yeah, I spent my whole life in England. You won the genetic lottery. It's a wild mix.

It's a wild mix. That's so cool. But being in England, like my British friends, I'm still friends with all my college buddies, they're like, oh, my God, you're so American. But then my American friends are like, you're so British. Really? Yeah. What makes you British? I think it's just my sense of humor.

Dry. Dry. And but also just the things I find funny, you know, and then the accent will slip. I'll use British phrases in an American accent and I'll use American phrases in a British accent. know yeah but and then if I'm talking to my my mom and my nan my accent will slip more that way because we use different vernacular you know it makes sense yeah when I've had a drink I turn a lot more I don't really drink that much anymore but that's my wife's cue she's like he's British yeah come to go that's me with my Canadian accent oh yeah yeah absolutely when I talk to I'll go home for a week and

come back and people are like you say like sorry and all that sorry a I used to think growing up I'd be like what are Americans talking about? Canadians sound the exact same as Americans. And then I moved to the States and then I went back and I was like, oh my gosh. What part of Canada are you from? I grew up in Edmonton. Oh, cool. Yeah.

And then, but I lived in Vancouver for 11 years. I heard it. I just heard it that. You did? Yeah. What did I say? Like the way you kind of, what did I say? What?

You said it again. Yeah, you're going to notice. You're going to be like actually you are very Canadian. I love accents and language. I find that fascinating. I do too. I actually did my 23 and me, whatever, and I found out, I'm super British. Oh, nice.

Yeah. Ours is all over the place too. I want to take the deep dive. I've kind of just heard from like my auntie and my, on my dad's side. My mom did it as well. So even when you say mom, it's mom. Yeah, my mom. Yeah.

Mommy. Has she seen you in Chicago yet? She has. She has. She came on the first stint. Okay. And what was great about that, kind of full circle moment here, because my nan took me to theater school on the weekends.

Right. So I started going to theater school from age four. And my nan would take me on the weekend. We'd go on the train on the London underground, you know. Mind the gap. To central. Please mind the gap. Yeah.

Nice. And so we go every Saturday. And then when I was 11, I went full time to the secondary school, high school for Americans, you know. And then I went to the college. So she took me on the train until I was old enough to ride myself. And at that age, I was learning these songs. Like I was learning all that jazz and all I care about is love. And, you know, so my nan came with my mom.

She doesn't really travel that often because she's a little older now. Yeah. Oh, you're lucky to see. And she saw five shows in a row. Really? Yeah. It was a very, very special moment. Oh, she must have been.

That was very Canadian. I heard it there. I was like, oh, she probably was so emotional. She was loving it. Yeah. I can't imagine. I get proud of my dog when he poops. So, like, can you, I mean, you can imagine?

I mean, you can imagine because you have a son now. But like that feeling of pride of seeing other generations that you created from like watching to know that you had that passion at the age of four to then being Billy on Chicago. Like that must be. It's pretty cool. Yeah. She gave up so much to take care of me. Wow. Very grateful.

How old is she? She's at 89. Wow. That's so cool. 89. I have, okay, I'm jumping all over the place just because I do it. We can play. We love a pivot.

I don't even like do a natural transition pivot. I'm like, anyways, back to, no. When you first started the show, like, did you think this is a show that's going to be around for 20 plus years? No. Yeah. I mean, you know, it's interesting. I got the call to do it. And I actually had a West End offer.

West End is England's Broadway. Okay. Right. So I had just finished. A lot of people don't know this. Like, that's what Derek and I were doing. We're doing theater before this happened. He was in London, too, doing theater.

Yeah. Yeah. Fun little tidbit for Derek's theater background. He was in the ensemble of Chitty Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang on the West End, and he played Wren in Footloose on the West End and the UK national tour. I did the UK national tour of the Buddy Holly story, and then I had just booked We Will Rock You, and then we both got the offer to do Dancing with Stars.

Oh. And we knew what it was, but we didn't. You know what I mean? And I almost was like, oh, I just booked a West End gig. I'm going to take that. And then the choreographer of that show, her name's Arlene Phillips, she's a theater legend in the UK. My mom, my dad, and some friends were like, maybe you should just go to give this a go. Like, you can always come back to the theater.

Yeah. We rolled the dice. We got the call on a Friday. I think we moved to, we had like two or three days to pack and go. Holy. And then me and Derek, we moved to L.A. together. Shared up. My dad got there ahead of us to get us a little apartment.

Showed up to L.A. Backpacked suitcase, guitar case. That was it, nothing. No way. We were there for 18 seasons in a row. Wow. That's when I moved from, this is so Canadian, when I moved from Canada to, or no, it was still in Canada. When I moved from Edmonton to Vancouver, it was actually for a dance scholarship.

Oh, cool. And I only packed a hockey bag of clothes. A hockey bag. It's just a hockey bag. Canadian. See, I love that. Just a hockey bag of clothes. And I was like, I have no idea what the hell I'm doing, but here I go.

Yeah. Which set me up for everything else. Oh, it was so exciting. And I just remember like thinking Vancouver's the big city. I did it. Yeah. I've made it. No, I never really spent time in Los Angeles.

I traveled a lot. Obviously, I'd been to California, but not in like L.A. Were you like, oh my gosh, I'm doing Hollywood in L.A.? Like I'm on TV? It's definitely a culture shock. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. What was the biggest shock for you moving from London to L.A.?

I just never really been around TV like that and, you know, going out and just it's just so. different. What was your audition process like to get the gig? So back then it was very different. You know, like obviously, this is what's interesting about the next pro show, right? Yeah. It's like obviously you want great ballroom dancers, ballroom and Latin because that's what the show is. Yeah. But also they need to be good personalities on TV that you know can stay patient, be a friend, no one to push, no one to pull back. And back then it was kind of like a crapshoot. Because everyone, was figuring the show out at the time. So back then, I think for people like Derek, me, Julianne, Carina, Louis Van Amstel,

you know, Max, like, Cheryl, like our ballroom, like, competitions and, like, things that we'd been a part of and won kind of spoke for themselves. So they knew that, okay, these are legit armed answers. Now let's see how they read on camera. Right. So I remember they had us go. into the BBC for an on-camera interview, which they've shown on the show before.

Yeah, they showed it years ago. I'm looking that up after. It's wild. Derek's. Derek's hilarious. Vows is hilarious. Mine is also hilarious. I sound way more British than that.

But yeah, it was like to see, all right, we know you can dance. Let's see how you read on camera. And that was kind of the process for us, you know. Because that's kind of what I love seeing on the next pro is it kind of sheds a light on just how much work the pros are putting into it. Yeah, like, you know, I've seen a lot of, I guess, like, different types of feedback for the show. And, like, you know, I see one of the main things I've seen is that,

oh, it doesn't feel like Dancing with Stars. It's very different. And it's not, it's not Dancing with Star. Right. And it's going to inherently feel different because we're, for the first time ever, we are getting an insight to what the pros go through. So I really encourage the audience. Like some people are like, oh, well, I'm not sure yet.

I'm not really there yet. Well, give it a chance. Give these dancers a chance because a lot of your favorite pros you've been watching for years. Yeah. And if you think about it, the only way you've got to know your pros now is you see them in the package a little bit, teaching, and the packages are very short. You watch them dance. They may answer a question in the skybox. And then the rest you learn on social media, right?

And the journey, it's not for the pros. It's for you. Right. Like when you are competing, our job is to take care of you and showcase you. So this is the first time in history of Dancing with Stars that the pro is having this type of a showcase, a show dedicated eight weeks to getting to know them. Right. And I really encourage the audience to like, look at this like, oh, wow, I'm getting an insight to see what my favorite pro goes through on the daily basis during Dancing with the Stars. Like all the challenges coming up are, they're cool.

Really? The producers did a really good job like creating these challenges. Like so far we've had technical. Yeah. Last week was storytelling. Then we're going into like group work. There will be teaching challenges, chemistry challenges, choreography challenges, all the stuff that you need to be a pro, to be ready.

They will face on this show. And you're not ready. No one's ready. You could be the best answer to where you're not ready for dance and stars until you're in it. That's true. It hits you like a truck. I feel like and think of how much when we see whoever wins the next pro,

how much we'll root for them. Yeah, I hope so. Yeah, like give them a chance. Yeah, absolutely, yeah. Yeah, that's, I'm really enjoying it. I'm so glad. I think it's very, I watched episode two last night. It heats up as it goes.

Oh, I'm loving. We didn't see, though, the judges, we didn't see all this house tea. Oh. So when I was watching the episode last night, I was like, oh, like, we had no point of. I love that part of it. Yeah, I love that it's, you see them dance and you see the process, but you also, they're all living together. It's like, which I'm sure it heats up there too. I know. Yeah. It's so smart. I really like it. I did see some people. I'm like, oh, why are they all living?

Tell them like, well, it's in Australia. They got to stay somewhere. Right. You know. Okay. Let me ask you this. If, so, whoever wins this season, do they, is there seniority in on Dancing with the Stars. Like, if you've been there for years, you kind of get like someone that you know is going to go far or is, how does that work? No, I don't think so. I think Dina has, Dina who is my favorite. My favorite. One of the greats, if not the greatest. She is the greatest. She's been. there from the beginning. And even more so her and Conrad Green. Conrad Green was the OG original producer. And those two together is a lethal combination. You know, since he's been back, look where the show is now.

Yeah. There's a lot of factors to that. Truly. But I truly believe that he gets it. Yeah. You know, and there's like, there's a love for the show that he has that is just unlike anything. But no, like they have a system.

Like, there's a lot of things. thing sometimes it's as simple as height i know well that's i was thinking too because you can't put some well daniela but yeah but you know daniel keeps getting there like well it's different for the man towering over the woman true like um it just kind of um yeah and a basketball player right right yeah yeah i remember when sherrell had uh rick fox same you know uh yeah no dina has a system she does what she does She's very, very good at it. And, you know, I have seen some stuff like, whoa, the winner of this show is someone going to get taken out?

Like, we don't know. Like, who knows? Like, I wouldn't worry about that yet. And also, I can't really recall, and if it has, it hasn't been many times where the pro lineup has stayed the same every season. There's constant, somebody knew, somebody coming out, someone coming up from the troops, someone going back down. True.

They have moved it around for as long as I can remember, yeah. I also think of like on the Bachelorette, I knew immediately night one who my top three were going to be. Okay. I probably knew who my top one was. Do you know going in like on night one of Dancing with the Stars? Are you like, I already know who the top three are? No. Is it like shocking every time?

I mean, I think on paper you can be like, sure. This dance was great, right? But nothing really surprises me on the show anymore because I've been doing it for so long. But I've seen people with great danceability. get eliminated early. Like my first season, I went out early and my partner, Sabrina, was an excellent dancer, you know, and I remember at the time it was like so shocking, you know, but there's been many eliminations like that over the years.

And then you've seen someone who maybe is not as natural of a dancer, make it all the way to the end. Bobby Bones. But sure, Bobby Bones, many, many. It all just, it's a, the dancing is like, I would say like 60, 70% of it. There's so much more that goes into it. Whereas on Next Pro, the dancing, the teaching, the understanding, the fundamentals, that's really, that's a big, big part of it. Because the storytelling, like, I could watch Dancing with the Stars and be like, oh, this person, like, who knows how far they'll go.

But then week five, I'm, like, sobbing and rooting for them and, like, seeing their improvement. Yeah. So I guess. It takes time. Like, on the first episode, you think about it, you're maybe seeing that couple and the celeb for six minutes. Yeah, yeah. Like, it's not a lot of time, you know. And then all of a sudden, it sucks to go out first.

Trust me, I've been there. It happens. Have you? Yeah. It just like, but it's part of the gig. How far did you and Kim Kardashian make it? I can't remember. But it was only a couple weeks.

Yeah, it wasn't very long. Which is so funny to think now, like Kim Kardashian now, you should get her again. Can they do a, can they, can you ever do? Yeah. She'd be like, I will, that will charge $100 million. Would they ever do that? I don't even think I'm exaggerating. Would they ever do that as bring back somebody to compete again if they've already done it?

It would have to be an all-stars. I don't think they would just bring like one person who's done it already because they've already had insight. It would have to be all the contestants have done it, you know? Who is someone that stands out to you in your seasons as a partner who was like the most determined hardworking? Like I know you can't pick favorites, but. Yeah, I can't pick that. I've been fortunate with some of my partners that, look, this is what I'll say. The battle is the biggest thing you need as a contestant on the show, right?

Good, because this is one of my questions. This is your question. Yes. You just got to be up for it. Yeah. You know, like, don't worry about skill set and worry about natural ability or because, again, like I said, we've seen people who aren't as natural go so far because they're just embracing the opportunity. Right.

And also the experience. It's a once in a lifetime experience. Truly. And as you know, you blink and it's over. Yeah. Like, and you also know, you hear those clicks. Oh, the clicks. You like dance, you black out and then it's over.

Yeah. And that just, every dance just moves that fast. Yeah. So it's like, for me, I noticed, never mind just my partners. It's just watching the show as a whole. It's the ones that really like take the dive and like really just give it a go. Throw themselves into the everything. Yeah.

Like, you know, if you're going to do it, go for it. I think that's something that I look back on and I regret. I don't think I threw myself into it as much as I. Really? Yeah. I don't have many regrets about the show and I ended up winning so I can't say too much of like. Why would you say that? I just, I've been like this since I was little and my mom gets so mad at me for it because

I don't know if it's just me being insecure or not. Sure. I like being like so good at everything. And if I don't feel like I'm as good as I should be, I hold back. Yeah, yeah. And I did this. When I moved to Vancouver to dance in a company, I remember going across the floor and quitting like halfway through and then trying to play it cool and I was 20.

And then I was like, as we do when we're 20. Yeah. And I was like, but I've done that ever since. Like I hold back instead of because I'm too scared of either looking stupid or falling and dancing in heels is so challenging for me. It's very hard. And so I'm like, I feel like I could have given it a little more. Like I watch these. Of course, I'm not on their level, but becoming the next pro just the way they snarl and look at the camera and look down the bear.

and look down the barrel and play with their hair. I'm like, oh, I could have done that. But that's cool that you see that. Yeah. And look, if they ever do in All-Stars now, you know, you got to just like let go of the reins a little bit. That's something as a coach that I encourage to all my partners. It's like it's okay to fail.

Yeah. It's okay to have a dance that you feel like, oh, that wasn't my best. Yeah. The goal is always to finish and feel like I did my best, you know? And that's always what I'm looking for, no matter what the score is or anything, as long as we can walk off the floor,

feeling like we did our best. That's kind of the win, right? Yeah. Because it's not all about winning. Of course, it's great to go all the way. Yeah. But no, yeah, that's something I really try to encourage is like, it's okay to not be the best. And to feel like you could, like, could have done it better because that's how we show improvement.

Like even as a pro who's been doing this for, God knows now, how long, like, I'm still improving. I still take lessons. I still learn things. Every season I do, I'm like, oh. that's different yeah okay okay I'm always like once you get to a place where you think you know it all I think like that's when you're humbled you're cooked yeah it's like you always learning does I see this with so much love to Artem because he's spoken about this and I'm not saying anything that I don't think he wouldn't agree with but he was going through such a hard time in his life oh yeah during the time that we were on the season while it was also COVID while it was it was a really hard time for him and so we it felt like we just went in there and it was about being the best. And he was dealing with so much that now looking back, I'm like, oh, I should have just hugged him so many times.

But he was just going through it. And then I wonder, he couldn't be the only one going through hard life things where you have to completely, like, I understand that when you show up to a job, you have to leave your outside world on the outside. But you're going into a dance space and you're storytelling for somebody going through hard times these big challenges in life while you're dealing with your own things but you're sharing their story how do you do that or i'm sure there's been a time where you are going in to dance and do this while you're struggling i mean there's been a few things you know that um have happened like

that you just have to kind of you know try your best to check it at the door sometimes it can be fuel yeah you know which i think is um in the arts whether it's music dance or whatever our performance you can like, it's kind of a cathartic thing. I'm sure. When you like, you know, break sweat, moving and stuff like that. But yeah, it can be hard. It can be hard to do that. But it's part of the job.

It is part of the. I mean, it's probably same thing for, it's a different schedule, but you write music. Yeah. And, you know, you've wrote so many songs through fatherhood and things that you've gone through in life. And I'm sure that's therapeutic as well. Oh, yeah. My wife and I have our indie group together.

Yeah. called Alexander Jean. You guys are amazing. Oh, thank you. We've been doing it a long time now. It's 10 years now. It's wild. We released our first EP 10 years ago.

We've been working on a full-length album for the last. Amazing. Since our son was born. We built a home studio. But yeah, a lot of our songs are pulled from personal experience. You know, my wife is a fantastic songwriter. That's what she does. She's written with some of the biggest artists in the world and biggest writers in the world

and had placements on some amazing artists. And her voice is so cool. Her voice is really cool. It's cool. And we were, when we were at Chicago the other night, Derek was like, oh, she should play Roxy for a show. I would lose my noodle to see. Because think about...

Lose my noodle. I always say I'd lose my nude. Lose my noodle. I love that. Because you, like the season of Dancing with the Stars really catapulted Whitney's career to Broadway. And then you guys have not, that's never been done before. It's a dancing with the Stars couple then performing together.

Yeah, that was a first. Broadway. That's a first. Yeah. We had a blast together. We had so much fun. To me, I'm like, I get that it's acting and performance, but I always wonder how theater people don't crack up or do.

Oh, we do. You do? Oh, yeah, all the time. All the time. It happens all the time. It's a skill. I'm to try and stop laughing. Yeah.

Like, someone falls over or someone has to sneeze in the middle of a sentence or someone spits on you and you're like, the spit is on your face. The spitting is a real thing. I remember when I was in Jersey Boys back in the day, one of the actors, John, he had this fake mustache he had to wear in a scene. It's a very serious scene. It's about collecting the Vig, like this money that is owed. And it's like, you know, you're going to get in trouble if you don't get the money back.

And the mustache was slowly coming off. So, but every time he talked, it would go like this. And all of us were just like, and he was like giving this lot. And this mustache is like that. And the front three rows started cracking up. Of course. And you've got to hold it together. You know, we had many moments like that.

Like, yeah, it's, yeah, it's part of the deal. Even to, I'm just always blown away by theater in general, just everything that comes with it. But I can't even sometimes form a sentence on a podcast. And I'm like, how do you remember, especially when I hear you do Hamilton? I'm like, does that just, is that just muscle memory? Does it start becoming? Listen, I have a good memory in those sense. And I think also when you're learning.

lines and the physicality of it helps like knowing where you are on the stage but things happen like I I kind of flubbed the line yesterday like yeah and then on my first pass in Chicago there was a line where I like completely botched the joke yeah and they were all cracking up at me on stage so it's you know it it happens it's part of being human that's what makes live theater fun true but they call that the white room where you just go like yeah and it's the wildest like the heat You know, when you know, it just drops. Yes, but I could tell.

So when Derek came out to do the intro, I knew he forgot his line. We were in the corner like, great, great. I was like, did somebody have to yell his line? Because you could just, sometimes I could just tell, especially for Derek, for him to pause that long. I'm like, oh, God, he's forgotten his line. But he said at the end, that's why I feel like I could share it because he came out. He said, oh, okay, I screwed up. I forgot.

But he held it together so well. Perfectly. Yeah. The Derek hub face. Yeah, he got into it. And then, you know, then he carried on. But yeah, that happens all the time. All the time.

Now, you would be a great judge on Dancing with the Stars. Would you ever do that if it? If they would like that at some point, yeah. Yeah, absolutely. I think it's great to have what's cool about the next pro. I'll say with that is that we have me and my mom. Like, my mom is coming at it from a head judge point of view from Strictly Come Dancing. For those of Those Strictly Come Dancing is Dancing with Stars in the UK, the original show.

So she took over for Len. when Len stepped down. So she's coming at it from that point of view. She's never been a pro on the show. I have been a pro show for 20 odd seasons now. And then we have a rotating pro that's also active right now. So to receive feedback from someone that's done the gig that understands the gig, I feel like it's so great for the contestants.

I agree. Same thing goes for like, I remember when Derek stepped onto the panel, it's like, oh, we're hearing from the most successful pro we've ever had as far as WINS goes. You know, and it's like he gets it. Like he's got the eye. Yeah. And I always try to encourage like feedback that you can take going forward. Yeah.

Because say you do a Pasadoblo and I'm like, well, Caitlin, you could have done this in your pasta do abla and next time you got to do this. It's like, well, next time there's not going to be next time. Yeah. I've done it. Truly. So what can you give me going forward? Right.

Like that's the angle I always try to. All right, going forward into the next dance, if it's a Latin dance, make sure you're doing this. Right. If it's a ballroom dance, make sure you're doing this. Because there are a lot of similarities. styles even though they are all inherently different. Yeah. Oh, I took Derek's feedback so seriously too because I was like, he's done this before. He gets it. He's so great at like giving it to you in a kind, loving way.

He is, yes. Wait, you and Mara were on traders together. Would you guys be partners? I don't know. Like, it just depends. It'll be hilarious. Oh, my God. I saw that she was like, I want Mark. Yes, I was going to say. I want Mark. I feel like it would be perfect. How tall is she? She's the right height for me. She is? Yeah. I think, I think, I think, So I haven't seen her in ballroom shoes. Can she dance? I have no idea.

Oh. You take her for a tour role when you were there? I mean, like, you know, we were too busy trying to catch traders. But, you know, we definitely, a lot of people, we talked about dancing on the show, you know. But yeah, like, I don't know if she can dance. We'll find out. We'll find out soon enough, right? I would love that partnership.

And I just kidding. When does it start again? September? Fall, yeah, in the September. But she's great. She's hilarious. We had so much fun in the castle. And, like, that was a wild experience.

Wild. Was it? Oh, yeah. You were good. I did my best. Yeah. There was a lot that didn't make the cut. Like, I was, you know, I was busy.

I had notes. I was, I was a friend to all. The one thing, like, I pride myself on it is that I never received one vote at the roundtable. I was never. I was never. You're never on people's radar. Suspected. Yeah.

However, the flip side to that is when I look back and reflect, it's like, I never had to defend myself at the table. Whereas I feel like if I had ever caught some heat, I would have, I'm not a pushover. So I feel like I would have been able to, like if it had become between me and Rob at the table, I feel like I could have like. I would do an all-star season for traders. I would do that in a heartbeat. Yeah. I loved every second of it.

Okay. If I ever went on traders, what would you, what piece of advice would you get me? So the advice I give you is, is don't be too loud. Don't be too quiet. Okay. You sit in the middle, like, don't, like, it's so funny. I watch these game shows a lot, right? And it's funny when you watch the British version versus the American version, right?

And, you know, on the American version, there's a lot of reality stars and, like, you know, they're used to doing their reality show. So when the cameras go on, they know how to do reality, right? But for me, the show is great reality. You don't have to, like, turn it on, just play the game. Right. You know what I mean? And that's what I love about the British show so well is that. They just play this game and it's like riveting, you know.

So it's finding a way to kind of just like be of use. Be helpful in the challenges. Really open your ears. Try not to get stuck in, be a friend to all. Like you have to, it also depends if you're a traitor or faithful. I know. If you're a traitor, like that's a whole different, that's a whole different thing. I don't know what I would.

I think I would just go where the wind blew me. Like just put whatever role you. Yeah. You have to be adaptable for sure. No matter what I do in TV ever, I always just want to like, surrender to the process. Yeah. And take notes, pay attention.

Yeah. Like, it's so easy. People are like, how did you not know it was Rob? I'm like, well, it's really easy when you know on the first episode from your couch. But when you're in there and you're in this big castle and you've never met any of these people, like you really don't know. It's hard. Yeah.

You have to make a critical mistake as a traitor to be sussed out early. Now that I'm thinking about this, I was like, wait. Also, Charlie and then Whitney is, are your partner just destined to do broad after a partner with you. Charlie did Angioliet and yeah. You just like transfer your Broadway energy. Well, I hope that there's time

with me with dancing. Like, because I think you can see in my work that there are theatrics to it and I try to bring that kind of storytelling to it. But they are both very talented in their own right. You're so talented. It's crazy. Your son's name is Banksy, right?

Yeah. I'm obsessed with that name. Thank you. Is he already showing interest in music and... Oh yeah. He loves drums. He loves like whenever my wife and are working on the record at home like he'll come in and especially when i'm programming drums or

listening back to live drums he just he loves it he wants to like touch the guitar and like he really enjoys it but he's also got for a two-year-old he's got a cannon of a right arm really yeah like he can really throw a ball like really really well so who knows i'm curious to see what he uh what he wants to do yeah i'm like then now derrick has a daughter yeah everly everly oh my gosh are they ever gonna do you guys you play dates? Well, Evie's still really little. She's like a baby baby.

I mean, they've met and they've like touched hands, you know, and they face time. They do. But yeah, you know,

she's still baby baby. When it's playtime, yeah, for sure, they'll have play dates. That's so, do you guys live close to each other? Yeah.

Oh, amazing. Yeah. That's so fun. That's all my friends, I'm the last one of all my friends to not have a baby and I want a baby.

And I'm just like, hurry up, Caitlin. It's the best. I'm like, 41. It's a game changer. Hey, it's never too late.

No, no, no. I've also got my eggs frozen. I'm good. Hey, there you go. I'm going to finish this off with one game. And it's called, do you know ball? Room. Okay, nice.

Thanks. Very cool. Thanks. So it's pretty straightforward. I'm going to test your Dancing with the Star's knowledge. Uh-oh. Watch me fail this game. Even if you win, there's no prize.

So it doesn't matter. No worries. What year did Dancing with the Star's first air in the U.S.? I want that music from like, who wants to be a millionaire? And 2005? Yes! Very good. Okay.

Which of these pros did not start on the troop? Whitney, Alan, or Lindsay? Oh shit. Did not start on the truth. Right. Lindsay. Yes. She started as a pro then did troop.

Then did troop then went back. Yeah. I remember that. How many total Emmy nominations has dance in what the stars received. I'm going to give you options. A, 73, B, 97, or C, 132. That is really hard.

No one said it was going to be easy, Mark. What was the numbers again? 73, 97 or 132. Wrong. It's 132. Dang, I was going to go ahead. I was like, that seems like a lot. I know, right?

Should have run with your gut. Okay, which contestant has the most Olympic medals? I'm not giving you options. Olympic medals. Olympic medals. Damn. Ryan Locke. Ryan Locti.

Yeah. Lockty. Is that how you say it? Lockty? I like Ryan. The other one is Natalie, but I don't know how to say her last name by the way. Okay.

Yeah, yeah. I don't think I was on that season either. Well, then you get a pass. I get a pass. Okay. Which of these celebrities has not been a contestant on the show? Have not been. Zendaya?

Zendaya. Yeah, she has. Pamela Anderson. She has. Paula Abdul. Paula Abdul. Yeah. Yeah.

She's been a guest judge, though. She, Paula has. Do you know it's so funny, my mom is a super fan of Paula Abdul. My mom was a really good dancer. And my mom's always talked about how she loves Paula and she used to try and look like her. And then she'd get compliments being like, you look like Paula Abdul. And I'm like, oh, my God. My mom FaceTimes me in Mexico with Paula Abdul.

Oh, what a small world. Manifested this your whole, like they're like at the same party in Cabo. Paul is a vibe. She's great. Such vibe. Okay. Last one. Which pro has been in the most finalees?

Is it me? Yeah. That was good. I was like trying not to look at you and be like giving away because I was like, it's you. That was a crap shoot there. That was like, uh, is it me? That's cool.

Wow. You've had quite the career. Thank you. I am trying my best. Appreciate that. Well, you're best. I loved also at the Q&A the other night after somebody asked, like, what advice you'd give. And it was so cool because you're like, I got so many nose.

And then look at you at the age of 40 being Billy Flynn in Chicago. And you still get nose. And you still, yeah, and you still get nose. But like, that doesn't mean not one yes is going to come your way and that yes could change your life. And that no, the thing that you got the know on may change. You don't know. Well, and it just, it's good. It's character building.

You don't want to get yeses right out the gate and then go down from there. And it's part of life. And it's part of life. Yeah. I love that. It was really cool to see you in Chicago. I wish I could have seen Whitney in it and you guys at the same time because I mean people were taking videos that they shouldn't have so I got to see some clips. Slime tutorials as they take it. Yeah. Yes. Oh my gosh. But it was so good. You're just so talented and you're also kind and I'm just really happy for you. And also I'm obsessed with your wife. Me too. She's so cool. Her in Chicago would be awesome. No, it's got to happen even if it's just for like a special night. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I think she would. Imagine the edge she would bring for Roxy. I agree.

Like they've, I don't think they've ever had a rock singer, you know. That would be so cool. Theater singers, pop singers. No singers. No singers. They've had all kinds. But didn't Pamela Anderson do it? I think so, yeah.

Yeah. She did. The Wall of Fame is quite amazing. Like they have all the names on the wall. I should have looked. I was back there and I was just like trying not to geek out too much. But yeah, the rock voice. Yeah, I feel like it would be so cool.

Yeah. Also, the fact that you only had two weeks to prepare. for that show. It's like a good thing that you started studying when you're four. I know, right? I was very familiar with the music, but yeah, they don't give you much time. Oh my gosh. Okay, I got to stop asking questions, but do you get like vocal trainer and are you just have, you do?

I go to Eric Vitro here. He's a, he trains everybody. Oh, that's cool. Yeah, yeah. So Eric will give me a tune up, but I'm also like, I record all my classes. So every day, I have like a 30 to 40 minute warm up. Wow. And then after a show I warm down.

Because I even see certain parts of the show where you guys are like putting your lozenges in. Oh, did you see me pop it in? Only because I shouldn't have been watching you. I was like, I used to answer my back. And I saw the girl do it too. Oh, yeah. Yeah.

And I was like. Well, the theaters are so dry. Yeah. Like they're old buildings. They haven't been cleaned in years. You know, like, they're old buildings. So that reminds me. Especially on your first night, you get like cotton dry mouth.

Once you get, once the nerves settle. Well, nerves make you have cotton dry mouth? First of all. Okay. That's like on, have you seen stepbrothers when he's like, I have sore throat? I just want to sort of thought for like three months now.

No, legit. Like, it feels like the Sahara in there, like especially if you're nervous. So, yeah, there's little windows

in every show that I've done where you can pop a lozange or take a sip of tea. No, it's so smart. Yeah, yeah, we have them like hidden on the stage. I bet.

Yeah. Okay, tell everybody where they can come find tickets to the show. You're only going to be four weeks. Yeah, I'm in the show. Your music, all the things.

Yeah, I'm in Chicago, the musical until, what are we at? July 20th until August 16th. And then, yeah, If you want to check out my wife and I's music, we're called Alexander Gene. We're on every streaming service.

And our handle is at Alexander Gene official. And if you want to follow me, I'm just on at Mark Ballas. Amazing. Thank you so much for coming here on your day off. Thank you for having me. That was a fun chat. That was fun. I had to stop myself.

I have like 80, 100 more questions. Well, we can do it again. You know what? You say that. Let's do it. Okay. Tomorrow. All right.

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