Halloween Night Isn't the Same Without Mark Ballas on 'DWTS'

Lindsey Stirling & Mark Ballas. Photo credit: ABC.

Dancing With the Stars' highly anticipated Halloween night is upon us. It's one of the theme nights that has always delivered major routines on the show. While some viewers look forward to the team dances, there was one pro who always made Halloween night special — Mark Ballas.

Not only do many viewers miss his creativity, but his work is also missed by the wardrobe design team. In 2017, DWTS costume designer Steven Norman Lee told Red Carpet Report, "He's been everything. He gets really creative. He gets really into it from video games to a frozen monster to Edward Scissorhands. We always do a little twist to his outfits because he likes that and it makes it creative for us. It's always challenging, but we love working with him."

Let's take a look at some of his memorable Halloween dances.

1. Alexa PenaVega: Season 21

Paso doble is the perfect Halloween dance style that was only made more perfect by Mark's concept with Edward Scissorhands. With Alexa PenaVega playing Kim, the duo powerfully moved throughout the ballroom without missing a step — or a handhold. Those scissorhands added a major challenge to the choreography.

2. Team Creep Du Soleil: Season 19

Even though they didn't win the team dance, this highly underrated piece showcases some well-executed conceptual ideas. From the camera angles to the costumes, this routine gave each contestant a fun spotlight, especially having beloved celeb, Tommy Chong, be the ringmaster of this creepy circus. Mark, Peta Murgatroyd, Cheryl Burke and Witney Carson delivered a fun (and nostalgic) routine.

3. Lindsey Stirling: Season 25

Using a selection from Lindsey Stirling's music library, Mark created a Dia de Los Muertos tribute. The paso doble had classic Ballas elements in the piece from the detailed makeup to the traditional floral headdress on Lindsey. The number is even more remarkable when you realize Lindsey had a painful rib injury that week.

4. Sadie Robertson: Season 19

Yes, it's another Paso double, so Mark had a favorite style to deliver his spooky delights. Playing on Sadie's sweetness and light, Mark played with the darkness as a zombie. This wasn't an easy concept to deliver since it was a week the Duck Dynasty cameras were also watching. What is also worth watching is the judges' comments, Len Goodman thought the theme got in the way of the dancing and Julianne Hough threw a quip at Mark that fell a little flat.

5. This is Halloween: Season 13

Lacey Schwimmer choreographed this number from The Nightmare Before Christmas, but Mark's enthusiasm for Halloween is seen in every movement in this piece. It was a part of the results show (Remember those?) in 2011. The number featured several young kids dancing around the duo. If you look carefully, the little one doing flares on the floor early in the number is Season 16 So You Think You Can Dance winner, Bailey Muñoz.

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