Will Mark Ballas return to 'Dancing with the Stars'? He weighs in.

Ralphie Aversa, USA TODAYMon, July 27, 2026 at 7:49 PM UTC

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NEW YORK – Mark Ballas, the three-time "Dancing with the Stars" Mirrorball Trophy winner, is staying tight-lipped about whether or not he's returning to the show as a pro for Season 35.

"They're doing their process right now," Ballas, 40, tells USA TODAY of the ABC show's producers. "I'm open to it."

The professional dancer admits that the schedule would be "tight" with his latest run on the hit Broadway musical, "Chicago." Ballas is currently scheduled to perform in the show until Aug. 16. The "DWTS" cast reveal takes place Sept. 2, but preparations for the pro dancers begin well before then.

Matter-of-fact, Ballas hopes that the winner of "Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro" (Mondays at 8 p.m. ET) is already getting ready for their big debut.

"I always say to our star partners, 'When it starts, it's all fun, you're learning, it's different, you're breaking a sweat, all things are new,'" Ballas says. "It's really cute until week six, and then it gets serious. So I would hope that the winner is preparing, because you're fired out of a cannon. There's a lot coming at you."

On "The Next Pro," 12 up-and-coming dancers, some of whom have links to the likes of Bad Bunny and Jennifer Lopez, compete in an intense audition process. The winner of the competition lands a spot as a pro on Season 35 of "Dancing With the Stars," airing this fall. Season 34 champ Robert Irwin hosts the show, while Ballas, his mother Shirley and a rotating cast of guests serve as judges.

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Ballas feels "confident" that the winner, whom he already knows since the competition was pre-taped, will do a good job. And he notes that the new member of the show will have a group of "seasoned pros" at their disposal for help.

Mark Ballas reveals sweet gift from his wife for his Mirrorball Trophies

Ballas won "DWTS" paired with Kristi Yamaguchi (2006), Shawn Johnson (2008) and Charli D'Amelio (2022). Up until this year, he didn't keep any of the trophies in his house. That changed over the holidays.

"For Christmas, my wife bought me this really beautiful cabinet that she has them displayed in," he says, referring to singer-songwriter BC Jean, whom he married in 2016. "So they're in a cute little cabinet in the living room."

And he celebrated her success over the holidays as well, gifting her the latest RIAA certification for the song "If I Were a Boy," which Jean co-wrote with Toby Gad. The song became an international hit after Beyoncé recorded and released it.

"My wife's interesting in the sense that she makes her art, she's a writer, she's a very carefree person... and she's not one to celebrate herself very often," Ballas says. "I wanted to do that for her because it just hit a new milestone."

"If I Were a Boy" is now six-times platinum. Ballas jokes that he "kind of had to jump through hoops to get" the plaque, but he eventually secured it.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Will Mark Ballas return to 'Dancing with the Stars'? He weighs in.

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