Mark Ballas has fans buzzing about a potential return to Dancing With the Stars. His last appearance was during Season 31 in 2022. He was partnered with Charli D’Amelio and took home his third Mirrorball trophy.
Buzz about Ballas’ potential return to the ballroom came after he posted a video dancing with Jenna Johnson, who won Season 33 and is expected to return in 2025. One fan posted on Reddit, “In my bones I know mark isn’t coming back but he is sure doing a lot of ballroom training…”
The rumors intensified when Ballas’ dad, Corky Ballas, responded to an Instagram comment that said, “Would love to see Mark on this season.” His response? “U never know.”
Prior to his Season 31 win, Ballas was a pro every year from Seasons 5 to 22. He then took a short break before returning for Season 25 in 2017. Ballas previously revealed that his 2022 comeback after five years away was due to executive producer Conrad Green coming back to the show following his 2014 exit.
In 2023, Ballas popped up at the DWTS Live tour and hinted that he would not be coming back to the ballroom as a pro. “This will be the last time you see me dance in this capacity,” he shared. “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.”
He did return to DWTS in 2024 as a guest judge and revealed afterward that he’d love to come back in that capacity. “If they would have me? Of course! It would be fun,” he dished.
For the most part, fans aren’t convinced that Ballas will be returning as a pro, despite the clues, but are speculating that he may be a judge or mentor in Season 34.
“If he’s on, it has to be either as a judge (either full time or guest) or as a choreographer and/or mentor of some kind. Unless something has changed pretty drastically, Mark said that a full season is too hard on his body,” one person pointed out on Reddit. Someone else replied, “I would love to have him as a judge because he gives solid feedback.”
Others noted that winning with D’Amelio was the perfect way to go out on top. “This might be unpopular, but I hope Mark doesn’t come back as a pro,” someone admitted. “He had such a great last season with Charli and he will never have a better season than that, so it was the perfect way to go out. I would LOVE to see him as a permanent judge though.” Another user replied, “I agree that Charli’s season was a great way to finish out tenure as a pro. I would love to see him in a kinda ‘creative director’ role where he choreographs opening numbers, bumpers, pro numbers, etc., or in more of a pro mentor role.”
Another commenter added, “I hope he’s back as a judge. His Season with Charli was the perfect way to wrap up his story of being a pro on the show I just don’t know if it would get any better than that.”
