Mark Ballas built a career on being precise. As a dancer, precision wins mirrorballs. As a singer, it holds a harmony. As an actor, it lands a line. When he walked into the castle for The Traitors Season 4, that same precision produced something rare: a Faithful game so clean he never once became a Round Table target, and still ended one step short of the finale. This is how a three-time Dancing with the Stars champion, a Broadway leading man, and one half of Alexander Jean ended up murdered in a coffin set aflame, and why he is back in the ballroom now, dancing with the woman who watched it happen.
Raised in the Wings
Mark Ballas was born May 24, 1986, in Houston, Texas, to professional dancers Corky and Shirley Ballas. He spent most of his childhood in England, where his mother is from.
He attended the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London on a full scholarship. It was there he met his best friend and future Dancing with the Stars judge Derek Hough.
The training paid off early. Ballas won the British Open, the U.S. Open, and the International Open to the World championships. He also won the Junior Latin American Dance Championship and Junior Olympics gold with partner Julianne Hough.
As a child extra he appeared in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone as a Hufflepuff schoolboy. He later guest-starred on Samantha Who? in October 2008.
Three Mirrorballs
Ballas has been a Dancing with the Stars professional since 2007, first appearing in Season 5 at age 21. Across 20 additional seasons through Season 34, he reached the finals eleven times and won three mirrorballs.
His wins: Season 6 in 2008 with Kristi Yamaguchi, Season 8 in 2009 with Shawn Johnson, and Season 31 in 2022 with Charli D’Amelio. He finished runner-up in Season 14 with Katherine Jenkins.
That puts him tied as the second-winningest pro with Val Chmerkovskiy. Derek Hough holds the record with six.
Ballas also earned a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Choreography in 2011, for his Season 12 routines with Chelsea Kane. He is a two-time World Choreography Award winner and five-time nominee. He choreographed a Pepsi Super Bowl commercial starring Sofia Vergara.
A Second Act in Song
Music came next. Ballas is one half of the indie duo Alexander Jean with his wife, singer-songwriter BC Jean. BC Jean co-wrote Beyonce’s “If I Were a Boy” before the two started making music together in 2015.
Their first single, “Roses & Violets,” debuted at No. 1 on the singer-songwriter iTunes chart and No. 6 overall, charting in 7 countries. Their first EP, “Head High,” and second EP, “High Enough,” both hit No. 1 on the singer-songwriter albums chart and Top 30 overall.
The duo toured the U.S. three times in 2016 and 2017 and opened for Lindsey Stirling’s sold-out Warmer in the Winter Tour. Alexander Jean has amassed more than 200 million streams worldwide. Ballas said in 2026 that new Alexander Jean music was coming that year, the group’s tenth year working together.
Ballas married BC Jean, whose full name is Brittany Jean Carlson, on November 25, 2016, in Malibu, California, after dating three years and getting engaged in November 2015. Their son, Banksi Wylde Ballas, was born November 5, 2023.
A Second Act on Stage
Broadway gave him a second stage. He debuted as the final Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys on Broadway, running October 18, 2016 to January 15, 2017 at the August Wilson Theatre. He reprised the role on the National Tour in Los Angeles and at The Muny in St. Louis.
He played Charlie Price in Kinky Boots on Broadway from September 11 to November 18, 2018 at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre.
Most recently he played Billy Flynn in Broadway’s Chicago in two 2026 runs, April 6 to May 3 and July 20 to August 16, 2026, at the Ambassador Theatre.
The Cleanest Game in the Castle
Ballas played The Traitors Season 4 entirely as a Faithful, and he never became a Round Table target all season. That is a genuinely rare feat in a game built on suspicion.
He built early alliances with Kristen Kish, Stephen Colletti, and Eric Nam. He joined the “Dagger” trust alliance with Kish and Rob Rausch, never realizing Rausch was a Traitor the entire time.
When Kish was murdered after correctly suspecting Eric Nam, Ballas voted with the group to banish Faithful Natalie Anderson instead.
In his Parade exit interview, he was blunt about what he knew and when he knew it: “I knew it. I knew it immediately… I was a lone wolf at this time. Stephan and Kristen had been taken away from me… I knew that Eric was a Traitor, but the conversation that day was all about Natalie and Rob.”
He also discussed why he did not go through with voting Rob out despite having the votes with Natalie, Tara, and Johnny. He discussed his regrets about not targeting Tara and Johnny sooner. Lisa Rinna originally thought he was Kenny G.
Rausch and Nam eventually chose him as their final murder target before the finale. Ballas was murdered just before the finale, finishing 6th of 23.
The finale opened with his murder reveal, leaving five players: Traitors Rob Rausch and Eric Nam, and Faithfuls Maura Higgins, Tara Lipinski, and Johnny Weir. Rob’s goal in killing Ballas was to have Higgins vote by his side against Lipinski and Weir.
The Comeback Tour
Ballas stepped away from Dancing with the Stars after his Season 31 win in 2022. He returned two years later for Season 34, partnered with Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Whitney Leavitt.
Despite remarkably high scores, the pair were eliminated in the semifinals on November 18, 2025, on Prince Night. Their cha cha to “1999” scored 29 out of 30. Their Viennese waltz to “Slow Love” scored 29 out of 30. Combined 58 out of 60, tied for second on the leaderboard, yet eliminated on combined judges’ scores and viewer votes.
Robert Irwin and Witney Carson went on to win the season.
Leavitt said after the elimination: “I already feel like a winner. It’s changed my life and I’ll forever be so grateful to have this experience.”
The pair then starred in Chicago together. Leavitt as Roxie Hart in her Broadway debut from February 2 to March 15, 2026 at the Ambassador Theatre. Ballas as Billy Flynn. It was a fitting sequel to their perfectly scored Dancing with the Stars Argentine tango to “Cell Block Tango” from Chicago.
Back in the Ballroom with Maura
Season 35 of Dancing with the Stars premiered with a two-night premiere on September 15 and 16, 2026, on ABC and Disney+. Episodes air Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET. Ballas is partnered with Maura Higgins, reuniting the two after Traitors Season 4.
Week 1 brought a foxtrot to “Black Velvet” by Alannah Myles, scored 21 out of 30, and the pair were safe. The dark emerald staging recalled her Traitors season.
Week 2 brought a cha-cha to Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September” for 19 out of 30, the second-highest score of the night.
On Dedication Night in late October 2026, the pair performed a Paso Doble dedicated to Ireland, Maura’s home country. The dance was set to “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” by the Dropkick Murphys and joined by six-time world champion Irish dancer Lucky. They scored 35 out of 40. All couples were safe, with votes carrying to the following week.
On Horror Movie Night on October 27, 2026, they performed a contemporary routine to “Cry Little Sister” from The Lost Boys, scoring 32 out of 40.
Bruno Tonioli praised her “lyrical quality” and called her “a magnetic performer.” Derek Hough called her “an incredible performer” with notes on pointing her feet and extending her arms.
A double elimination took Jackson Olson and Emma Slater and Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess. Maura and Mark were declared immediately safe, with a combined 67 out of 80 across Weeks 6 and 7.
The next episode airs Monday, November 2, at 8 p.m. ET, with a Disney on Broadway theme and Cynthia Erivo as guest judge.
Judged by His Own Mother
Ballas also serves as a judge on the spin-off Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro, alongside his mother, Shirley Ballas. Shirley, head judge of Strictly Come Dancing and known as the “Queen of Latin,” has coached multiple Season 35 pros including Mark, Derek and Julianne Hough, Daniella Karagach, Pasha Pashkov, Val Chmerkovskiy, Brandon Armstrong, and Rylee Arnold.
Mark still seeks her advice. “She gives it to you straight. She gives it to you direct. And it’s always constructive,” he has said.
On October 27, 2026, Shirley guest-judged Dancing with the Stars Horror Movie Night herself, warning contestants: “Neglect the technique at your own peril,” or face a 2. Mark joked ahead of it: “Buckle up! Buckle up! I say that to myself!” She scored her son’s contemporary a 7, part of the 32 out of 40 total. She has said she is not leaving Strictly.
Rhinestone Overalls, Revisited
During Traitors Season 4, Ballas posted on Instagram: “RHINESTONE OVERALLS ANYONE?,” referring to Rausch’s signature denim overalls. He wrote: “I’ll take good care of you even tho you’re a TRAITOR!” and “Let’s see if you can trade that dagger in for one of these.” Rausch replied: “Give me some tips.” Ballas answered: “One of our girls will take good care of you unless… you want to dance with me.”
Fans flooded the comments begging for it, suggesting dances to “Murder on the Dance Floor” in sparkly overalls with disco ball snakes.
The joke reads differently now. Ballas did not end up dancing with Rausch. He ended up dancing with Rausch’s closest Traitors ally, Maura Higgins, on Season 35. That is where the story lands: not with a generic update, but with the dancer who lost the castle game now sharing a ballroom with the woman who watched him lose it, both still competing, both still in step.
