Some things in life are constant — death, taxes, rain right after you’ve just gotten a blowout. Another is Mark Ballas on Dancing With The Stars . The pro has been on every cycle of Dancing With The Stars since Season 5, and he announced right before Season 23 (I know, it’s a lot of seasons) that he wouldn’t be in the mix this year. Will Mark Ballas return to Dancing With The Stars for Season 24?
Ballas’ inventiveness and daring in his choreography has earned him a top spot among Dancing With The Stars favorites. From epic zombie makeup to dancing in a UFC cage, no one could ever think of the things that Ballas does. After the Season 23 cast was announced without Ballas in it, he took to Twitter to thank his fans for being so supportive, writing, “I am incredibly moved and grateful for all of your messages over the past 24 hours…I'll miss competing and creating outside the box, however I am looking forward to this new chapter and venture that is beginning shortly.” Way to be cryptic, Mark! Ballas is a showman, so of course he wanted to keep us on the edge of our seats as to what he’s doing next.
As reported by Entertainment Tonight, Ballas has actually just revealed that he’s stepping out on Dancing With The Stars because he’s going to be playing the lead role of Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys on Broadway. The show wraps in January — it opened in November 2005, so it’s had quite the run — and Ballas will be there to take it over the finish line.
This isn’t the first time a Dancing With The Stars alum has exited the show to be on the Great White Way — Derek Hough appeared with Broadway star Laura Benanti in 2015 in The New York Spring Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall. Ballas and Hough are BFF and have been since they were little kids, and, according to Ballas, Hough is so proud of him for snagging this role. "He's in New York right now and he just keeps sending me pictures of Jersey Boys posters," Ballas told Entertainment Tonight of Hough. "He was super thrilled for me."
But when Jersey Boys is over, Ballas isn't certain that he’ll be back on the dance floor — I know, it shocked me, too. He told Entertainment Tonight that he wasn’t sure if he’d return as a dancer on Dancing With The Stars, but he would love to be a guest judge. “That would be really nice to sit behind the desk, so don't rule that out," Ballas said. I know that Dancing With The Stars — especially 18 seasons of it — is hard on the body, but damn, Mark. The show wouldn’t be the same without him.
Personally, I think that Ballas is just leaving his options open — Dancing With The Stars seems to suck all of its long-time participants back in. They all keep returning for more, and since Ballas has made so much of his life and career on Dancing With The Stars, I’m sure he’ll be back, too. It's just a matter of when.
