Dancing With the Stars Mark Ballas is back in the ballroom this fall, and his pairing with Maura Higgins is one of the season’s biggest storylines. The three-time Mirrorball champion and the Irish reality star hit a season-high 35 out of 40 on Dedication Night, Oct. 20, 2026. One week later, on Oct. 27, they danced a contemporary routine to “Cry Little Sister” from The Lost Boys. Ballas’s mother, Shirley Ballas, sat at the judges’ table as a guest judge.
That Oct. 27 episode doubled as a double elimination, because nobody left after Dedication Night. Here is where Ballas and Higgins stand, how they got here, and what else the veteran pro has going on.
How Mark Ballas and Maura Higgins Became a Pair
Higgins joined the Season 35 lineup early. On April 22, 2026, the show named her and Summer House star Ciara Miller as the first two celebrities. The Love Island alum said she cried when the call came, and she described the show as a vision-board dream.
The partner reveal followed on Sept. 2, 2026, when the full cast and pairings landed on Good Morning America. Ballas and Higgins already knew each other from Peacock’s The Traitors. Both played as Faithfuls, and both reached the final episode. Ballas told TODAY he had to learn to trust her, since neither knew whether the other was a Traitor.
His return was not a sure thing. In May 2026, Ballas said he was “not sure” about Season 35 after a packed stretch of The Traitors, The Next Pro and Chicago on Broadway. He promised a decision by summer or fall.
Season 35 premiered Sept. 15, 2026, on ABC and Disney+. Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough host, and Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli judge. The season started with 14 celebrities.
Season 35 Scoreboard for Higgins and Ballas
Higgins opened at the top of the women’s field and has climbed almost every week since. Her second week dipped to 19, and the Sept. 29 Yacht Rock Night added a 22 out of 30.
| Week | Date | Theme | Dance | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sept. 16 | Premiere, Night 2 | Foxtrot to “Black Velvet” | 21/30 |
| 2 | Sept. 22 | Viral Hits Night | Cha-cha to “September” | 19/30 |
| 4 | Oct. 6 | Mariah Carey Night | Waltz | 25/30 |
| 5 | Oct. 13 | Super Bowl Night | Tango to “Only Girl (In the World)” | 33/40 |
| 6 | Oct. 20 | Dedication Night | Paso doble to “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” | 35/40 |
| 7 | Oct. 27 | Horror Movie Night | Contemporary to “Cry Little Sister” | Double elimination night |
The waltz on Oct. 6 earned the top score of that episode. The tango a week later jumped eight points, and the paso doble added two more.
Dedication Night: A Paso Doble for Ireland
Higgins dedicated her Oct. 20 paso doble to Ireland. She wore a tricolour-themed dress and danced to the Dropkick Murphys song. Six-time Irish dancing world champion Lucky Howard joined the routine, and the number drew a standing ovation.
Inaba praised the attack Higgins brought and noted real improvement from the week before. She scored an 8 after docking a point for the lift. Hough, guest judge Kym Johnson and Tonioli each gave a 9. Tonioli and Inaba both asked Higgins to clean up her shoulders.
The total of 35 out of 40 was her best of the season. It placed the pair sixth among the 10 remaining couples, behind Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov, who led with 38.
Before the show, Higgins told Ballas she wanted to honor her home country. Irish fans cannot vote for her, she said, but she still feels their support.
At the end of the episode, Ribeiro announced that all 10 couples were safe. Hough explained that the judges’ scores and viewer votes would carry over to the next week, setting up the double elimination.
Horror Movie Night and the Shirley Ballas Factor
Shirley Ballas joined Inaba, Hough and Tonioli on Oct. 27. She is the head judge of Strictly Come Dancing in the UK and a former judge on Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro. Parade reported it was the first time she judged her son on a competition show.
She did not go easy on anyone. Shirley gave 4s to Julia Stiles and Tatyana Ali, and she handed a 10 to Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson, who earned the first perfect 40 of the season.
Ballas and Higgins entered the night at the bottom of the top-six scores. The couples with the lowest combined totals from judges and viewers across both weeks faced the exit.
Irish Roots and a Family Name Fans Noticed
A funny twist surfaced around Dedication Night. Ballas researched his ancestry and learned he has Irish heritage. His mother then confirmed that a family line carries the surname Higgins.
Fans joked that the partners might be related. Nothing confirms that, but the story gave the duo extra buzz. Ballas also found a green ribbon in his bag, and Higgins called it a possible sign of good luck.
Ballas’s Mirrorball Record and Career Highlights
Dancing With the Stars Mark Ballas has built one of the show’s most decorated résumés. He joined as a pro in Season 5 in 2007 at age 21, paired with Sabrina Bryan. He later won the Mirrorball Trophy with Kristi Yamaguchi in Season 6 and Shawn Johnson in Season 8. Johnson’s finale aired May 19, 2009.
His third trophy came with Charli D’Amelio in Season 31, which ended Nov. 21, 2022. He is also an 11-time finalist and an Emmy nominee for outstanding choreography.
In 2023, Ballas told a Las Vegas crowd on the live tour that it would be his last time dancing in that capacity. He returned anyway for Season 34 in 2025, partnered with Whitney Leavitt of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. They tied for the top score in the Sept. 16, 2025 opener, with 15 out of 20.
Leavitt and Ballas then led the leaderboard for four straight weeks. Their run ended on Nov. 18, 2025, when they went home in the semifinals after Prince Night. They had scored 58 out of 60 that night.
Beyond the Ballroom: The Next Pro, Traitors and Broadway
Ballas stayed busy between seasons. Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro premiered July 13, 2026, on ABC. Ballas and his mother judged alongside rotating guest judges, and Robert Irwin hosted. Twelve dancers competed for a spot on Season 35.
Adele Zaikman won on Aug. 31 and joined the season as a first-time pro. Ballas has said judging gave him a new view of what the pros handle each week. He praised adaptability as the key skill.
He also wrapped a run as Billy Flynn in Chicago on Broadway before the season began. On top of that, he competed on The Traitors, where he met Higgins.
A Reported Backstage Story From Season 21
A podcast clip made headlines Oct. 25 and 26, 2026. Alexa and Carlos PenaVega said Ballas and fellow pro Witney Carson reportedly refused to share a room during Season 21 in 2015. Carlos also spoke warmly about Ballas’s creative choreography.
The Mirror reported it contacted the show, Ballas and Carson for comment. Parade noted that the issue does not appear to affect them now, and neither has commented. Carson danced this season with Guillermo Rodriguez, who left on Oct. 13.
How to Watch and Vote
Dancing With the Stars airs live Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+. Episodes stream the next day on Hulu. Season 35 is scheduled to end on Nov. 24, 2026.
Voting opens when the show starts and closes before the final commercial break. Fans can text a celebrity’s name to 21523 or vote online. The limit is 10 votes per couple for each method.
Can Mark Ballas guide Maura Higgins to the finals and a fourth Mirrorball? Tell us your predictions in the comments and keep checking back for every Season 35 update.