When the Dancing with the Stars community found out that Mark Ballas was returning to the show for Season 25, speculation immediately began about his potential partner. It was lightning in a bottle when he was paired with violinist Lindsey Stirling — she was the perfect match for his musicality and creativity.
On Monday, the Most Memorable Year week was the perfect opportunity to showcase their combined talents with a Viennese Waltz. It also was an emotional tribute to the musician’s late father.
“I’ve been a wreck all week. I’ve cried more this week since my father passed away. Mark did such a beautiful job with the choreography, but I’ve had to relive really hard emotions over and over and over again,” shared Lindsey at the Jump, Jive and Thrive event on Sunday at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles. “It’s exhausting. With my mom in town, I get to showcase the experience in a whole new way through art.”
Mark felt the emotional struggle in creating a piece about a person who meant so much to Stirling.
“It’s been a week, for sure. Those things are always hard, especially when it’s so personal and for me, I tried to do the best job possible, be comforting and help her do the best job she can in tribute and honor of her dad,” he explained.
The partnership is a match made in heaven. Lindsey understands why they work so well together out on the dance floor.
“Mark is an incredible musician,” she said. “I think that’s why the musicality comes out so much. He can choreograph musically for me because I get it and he puts it out there. It’s awesome. It’s why I am having the time of my life!”
Even though the experience has been incredible for her so far, she does give future contestants the best advice for approaching the series.
“This is a huge commitment, it’s hard, it takes time, but all of us know what it’s like to work hard. Seriously though, this is HARD. The week we did the Jive my legs killed. I felt like I could barely walk because I had such knots in my legs and my feet. It’s exciting, but it’s also a lot of pressure,” she said. ”So being able to push through the pressure and remember, I did this because I wanted to have a good experience. I remind myself: I’m here to learn, I’m here to have a great experience and I don’t have to be the best dancer in the world because I’m not going to be.”
Even though Lindsey doesn’t think she is the best dancer this season, fans will agree that she’s doing a great job staying near the top of the leaderboard with fellow contestant Jordan Fisher. But all eyes will be on Mark and Lindsey for Halloween week since no one does that theme week better than the longtime pro.
“I got one brewing in the oven for that one. If we get it right, it’s going to be good,” he hinted. “We haven’t addressed the practicality of it, but production knows the idea. It’s one of my favorite weeks.”
For Strictly Come Dancing fans, there’s been another Ballas making waves across the pond. Mark’s mother, Shirley, is the new head judge on the show after stepping into Len Goodman’s place on the popular U.K. show.
“This is my unbiased opinion, even though she is my mom. She’s just so knowledgeable, so passionate about it, she knows it backward. There is nothing she doesn’t know and hasn’t experienced,” he stated. “She can also get up and do it for you and probably do it better than you.”
In addition to his DWTS duties, Mark and wife BC Jean, who together form the group Alexander Jean, have some big news coming down the pipeline.
“We have a lot of things brewing. We can’t make the announcement yet, but we do believe we are going to be able to [share the news] within a week. We are planning on doing more shows, more music and get some Christmas songs going on,” BC teased. “We have a lot going on, we are just trying to fit it all in. I am building a home studio so we can get the music done. I’ve been building it myself with tools and everything.”
“While I am at work, she’s at home building the studio. It’s impressive,” laughed Mark. “We can’t wait to share what is next.”
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