Mark Ballas: Triple Threat To Perform At Guild Hall

Professional dancer Mark Ballas is capable of much more than his fancy footwork seen on the hit ABC television show “Dancing with the Stars.”

He is passionate about music, as well.

Mr. Ballas will show a side of himself that not many fans normally see when he performs at the John Drew Theater at Guild Hall in East Hampton on Saturday, July 14, at 8 p.m. It’s there that he will showcase his other talents—on acoustic guitar and vocal performance.

“As far as dancing goes, I’ve accomplished everything I want to at this moment,” the ballroom dancer and two-time “Dancing with the Stars” mirror ball trophy winner said during a telephone interview on Tuesday. “Now, I want to move more into the music side of things. I want to be the first urban pop artist that can really dance, really sing and really play an instrument. I want to be the person that can really do all three. That would be cool for me.”

Following the release of his debut album “HurtLoveBox” in 2011, Mr. Ballas’s upcoming Guild Hall performance will feature an acoustic set of new songs he’s been working on most recently. These new pieces really capture the essence of who he is as a dancer and a musician, he said.

“I’m planning on doing all new stuff, nothing really off my record,” Mr. Ballas said. “It’s all integrated, fun and catchy, but still real. I want it to be an intimate, stripped down show so that they can really feel the authenticity of my music, just me and my guitar on stage. It’s going to be a fun night.”

Having achieved much success already in the world of dance, Mr. Ballas, the son of dance champions Corky and Shirley Ballas, said he is satisfied with where he is in his primary career and is now ready to embark on a new challenge: sharing his music with the world.

According to Mr. Ballas, his parents encouraged music and dancing from a young age, enrolling him in the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London.

“I started doing theatre when I was 3, and I was in musical theatre school until I was 10,” he reported. “I picked up a guitar when I was 9 and wanted to play rock music but my dad never let me. He wanted me to learn classic flamenco. I remember at the time, I wasn’t thrilled about those styles but now, looking back, having those styles as a foundation has helped my growth as a musician so much.”

By the age of 12, Mr. Ballas was writing and performing his own music, playing guitar, drums and bass. As a teenager, he and his dance partner—Julianne Hough, a two-time “Dancing with the Stars” former champion who is now starring in the movie “Rock of Ages” with East Ender Alec Baldwin—won the Junior Latin American Dance Championship and the gold medal at the Junior Olympics.

He and Ms. Hough also performed together, with her brother, Derek Hough—another “Dancing with the Stars” dancer and three-time champion on the show—in a pop trio called “2B1G,” which stood for “two boys, one girl.”

Mr. Ballas has also starred in a number of stage plays and television shows. On stage, he has played the roles of Tony in the musical “Copacabana” and was the understudy for the role of Ritchie Valens in the United Kingdom national tour of “Buddy, The Buddy Holly Story.” He has also made guest appearances on “Samantha Who,” starring Christina Applegate and “Melissa & Joey,” starring his former “DWTS” partner Melissa Joan Hart and another former contestant, Joey Lawrence.

His education, combined with his natural ability to perform, contributed to his inevitable rise to his growing stardom. And now, fans of the ambitious triple threat will have plenty of opportunities to enjoy his many talents because Mr. Ballas doesn’t plan on stopping, he said. After conquering the worlds of dance and music, his next goal is Broadway. It sounds like he’s well on his way.

Mark Ballas will play the John Drew Theater at Guild Hall in East Hampton on Saturday, July 14, at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $18 to $35. For more information, call 324-4050 or visit guildhall.org.