Shirley Ballas

Shirley Ballas is a retired competitive ballroom dancer in the International Latin division, where she holds several championship titles with partner Corky Ballas. She is also the mother of Mark Ballas of Dancing With the Stars fame.

Prior to her marriage to Corky, Shirley was married to and competed with fellow Brit Sammy Stopford, with whom she placed 2nd in the 1982-83 & 1985 Dancesport World Champions (Professional Latin). [http://sports123.com/dan/wlat.html] The pair was also the 1984 UK Open Champions in professional Latin.

After meeting Corky at a Latin competition in Montreal, Canada, Shirley left her husband for Corky. The pair moved to Houston, Texas to compete stateside. Their first and only child, Mark Ballas Jr., was born in 1986. Prior to his birth, his parents thought him to be a girl, and picked out the name Amy for him. This mistake would later lead to Mark naming his rock band "Almost Amy".

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