Sunday, June 27, 2010

Round-up post :)

It's about that time for a little spring cleaning post. Here are the links & info posted on the twitter feed that haven't made it to the blog yet:

Check out the info after the cut:

One more pic from the Eclipse premiere

Here's another photo from the red carpet. It isn't one I've seen before, and I'm not sure who the photographer is, but I found it here: http://www.filmgecko.net/2010/06/27/the-twilight-saga-eclipse-photos-from-the-l-a-premiere/
photo copyright unknown, 2010

Mark Ballas & Travis Garland

Travis Garland posted this pic of Mark and him yesterday. They made a video for an acoustic version of Believe.

photo copyright Travis Garland, 2010

If you don't know the song Believe, here is the full version:


This song is not my style as is, but an acoustic version could be interesting. :)

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Friday, June 25, 2010

@officialmballas & @imashleyroberts at Eclipse premiere

Many more over at picapp...be sure to check out the gallery :)

24 June 2010 - Los Angeles, California - Ashley Roberts and Mark Ballas. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Los Angeles Premiere at the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival held at Nokia Theatre LA Live. Photo Credit: Byron Purvis/AdMedia







5 images over at Wireimage: http://wireimage.com/searchresults.aspx?s=eclipse&cbi=82010&sfld=C&vwmd=i

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Mark Ballas on the Eclipse red carpet

I grabbed a few screencaps from the E! Online live feed from the red carpet from the Eclipse Premiere. Kristi, Evan, and Mark:

Mark Ballas at Kristi Yamaguchi's "Dancing the Night Away"

Kristi Yamaguchi's annual charity event for her foundation "Always Dream" took place on Saturday, June 19th, 2010 at the Hilton Union Square, San Francisco. The event was named "Dancing the Night Away". Mark was a performer in the show.

Photographer Drew Altizer took many photos of the event.
The atmosphere:  http://www.drewaltizer.com/album.php?album_id=8286
Backstage: http://www.drewaltizer.com/album.php?album_id=8288
The Performances: http://www.drewaltizer.com/album.php?album_id=8289
Extras: http://www.drewaltizer.com/album.php?album_id=8284

Here are a few of Mark. There are tons of Mark photos over there, so be sure to check them out. Looks like Mark didn't attend the reception before the performance...he's not in any of the pictures. Maybe he was sleeping...he was going on very little sleep for many days. :)

The whole group:

Mark & Kristi in their Foxtrot outfits. Not sure why there are no pictures of the performance:

Mark & Chelsie, Samba:

Mark warming up for the music portion:

Mark singing:

Mark & Chelsie, Cha Cha:

Mark & Kristi, Mambo:

Final bow:

Mark & Kristi bow:

Everyone dances together:
All photos copyright Drew Altizer, 2010

Mark Ballas at the Iowa State Fair Anderson Erickson stage, 2009

On August 13, 2009, Mark played at the Anderson Erickson stage.  It got some video and pics. We were in the front row. :)

To make sure we got good seats, we spent most of the day sitting at the Anderson Erickson stage. Luckily, it is a covered venue, so the sun wasn't beating down on us, but man was it hot and sticky. :( Glad I was wearing a white dress. That helped.  We watched the KCCI Channel 8 news, where Shawn and Mark made an appearance, then we watched a bunch of young girls dance, a magician, some duck calls, and the introduction of the Iowa County Fair Queens, who were competing to be the 2009 Iowa State Fair Queen.

At 7pm, The Nadas took the stage for an hour and sang some great songs.  They are always a good show. 
Then, after The Nadas, Mark Ballas sang a set, about 30-40 minutes.  :)  After the show, he signed autographs and took pictures.  I made Mark a sign, which is said he liked ("I love that sign! EPIC! That's my word!").  It's not my best work, since I don't normally draw in marker. lol But, it came out better than I thought it would. The poster said "MARK + IOWA = EPIC" and I drew pictures of him and Shawn dancing on it.

First here is a pic that Mark posted to Twitter from during the concert. You can see my poster! hehe:
photo copyright Mark Ballas, 2009

I have pictures of the poster and of him and I (we had to do two takes because the first try cut off the top of his head and he said we should get a better one for Twitter LOL), but I was sweaty and ugly and so I've cut myself out of the pics. =P No, but seriously, it was 100+ degrees and we were in that heat from 7am until 11pm. I was a hot mess. Literally. I looked cute at 7am. But of course Mark didn't see me at 7am. =P  Oh, and of course my phone didn't record him saying "Hey, I really like your poster" during the concert. D'oh! But, it was a fun day and Mark was worth sitting in the heat. :)

The poster:
photo copyright Bewitching Ballas Blog, 2009

Mark and I, take 1. I cut off the top of his head. LOL
photo copyright Bewitching Ballas Blog, 2009

Mark suggested we do another take "for Twitter". :D
photo copyright Bewitching Ballas Blog, 2009

To view the rest of the photos and video, click here:

Mark Ballas in the Iowa State Fair Opening Ceremonies, 2009

The Iowa State Fair kicked off with the Opening Ceremonies at the Grand Stand on August 13, 2009. It started at 5:30am. :) Mark and Shawn made an appearance at 7:30am. They chatted with the radio hosts and Mark sang a few songs.  I have a few pics...but my camera had broken, so I had to use my Blackberry. It didn't do very well. :( The video is distorted and the pics are fuzzy. I was a lot closer to the stage than it looks in the pics/video. lol

Mark posted a photo of him and Shawn on stage:

photo copyright Mark Ballas, 2009

Check out the rest of the photos and video after the cut:

Mark Ballas in the Iowa State Fair Parade, 2009

Shawn Johnson was the Parade Marshall for the 2009 Iowa State Fair Parade on August 12, 2009. Mark was her escort. They led the parade downtown. None of my pictures for the parade came out...we were sitting at the wrong corner for a good pic. :(

But, Mark posted a couple of pictures. :) There is also a pic of them in the parade from the Des Moines Register and a photo of them with the Iowa Secretary of State.

Mark's shirt says I {heart} ISF (Iowa State Fair). It was reallllllly hot that week...the heat index was 100+ and sooo humid. Mark tweeted something like "it's hotter than Satan's oven in Iowa". lol

Mark and Shawn, from Mark's twitter account:
photo copyright Mark Ballas, 2009

Mark goofing around before the parade (from his Twitter):
photo copyright Mark Ballas, 2009

From the Des Moines Register:
photo copyright Andrea Melendez/The Register, 2009

With the Iowa Secretary of State, Michael Mauro & family:
photo copyright unknown. Found at the Iowa SOS website. 2009.

Some videos of the parade:

Shawn and Mark in the parade 8-12-09
they are at the beginning of the video at :20

Mark and Shawn go by at 1:00:

Mark Ballas at the Iowa State Fair, 2009

A few random pics of Mark and Shawn from the Iowa State Fair, 2009:

Mark and Shawn and a big snake:
photo copyright Mark Ballas, 2009

Mark and Shawn by Taylor Hiatt Photography:
photo copyright Taylor Hiatt, 2009

The whole gang the Fair. Mark and Shawn and her friends:
photo copyright either Tori or Claire...I think. I can't remember! :) 2009

Finally, Mark & Shawn at the airport, flying to Des Moines from L.A. It was a red eye flight...can you tell? Mark posted this on his twitter:

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

More birthday photos

I missed a few birthday photos. Found these at the TAO Group Blog:


A larger version of a previously posted photo of Mark and Edyta:
all photos in this post are copyright Al Powers

BBQ mmmmmmm. :D

Mark attended a BBQ at Cheryl's house yesterday. (Yeah, that's a good idea. I need to have a BBQ soon.) :)

Anyhoo, Mark posted this pic of the empty hot tub. LOL
photo copyright Mark Ballas, 2010

And Cheryl posted this priceless pic of Mark. Goofy!Mark...how I adore thee. :D
photo copyright Cheryl Burke, 2010

Monday, June 21, 2010

Ballas Hough & Lil' Kim "All About the Benjamins"

I've spent the entire evening at work figuring up financial records =S (But, I got a pay increase! Yay!).  I think I need a little Marky, yes? :D I thought this one would be appropriate.... ;)

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Mark Ballas music gig June 26th

Mark has a gig coming up next weekend, June 26, 2010. It will take place in Los Angeles at 10pm.

This is a private show, you MUST email stallionsvip@gmail.com to RSVP.

Location: 4701 W. Jefferson Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90016 (corner of Field and Jefferson)

I've added this event to the calendar :)

I believe it is at "Stallions". This is an underground club. From reading about another gig at this address, it starts at 10pm and will go until early morning (like 5am-ish). And it is probably 21+.  You will look for a big red door and must park on Jefferson.

Here is the other event that I'm reading about, so you can compare: (took place last night) - http://events.myspace.com/Event/5182446/Event-Title.  Looks like food and drinks are available.

Looks like this show is part of Stallions "Private Acoustic Evenings". Mark will play at the beginning of the night and then the rest of the night/morning will be DJs. 

If I find any more info about this event, I'll post it here.

Mark & Ashley hot air ballooning

Mark went hot air ballooning with Ashley Roberts on Friday and posted a couple of pictures to Twitter. :)

Mark and Ashley:
photo copyright Mark Ballas, 2010

View from the balloon:
photo copyright Mark Ballas, 2010

I've never been hot air ballooning - looks like fun! I love seeing the world from above. But, alas, it's rather expensive...so I'll probably never get the opportunity. I think it would be amazing to fly over Iowa in a hot air balloon. Iowa is the prettiest place on Earth to me and I love looking down at it from an airplane. Looks like a beautiful quilt! :)

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Kristi & Mark - Foxtrot & Mambo

Since Mark and Kristi are performing their Mambo and Foxtrot tonight at Kristi's event, I figured it wouldn't hurt to revisit the original performances. ;)

Foxtrot, Season 6, Week 1 (score: 9, 9, 9):


Mambo, Season 6, Week 2 (score: 9, 9, 9):

Mark's first performance on DWTS

Marky's very first performance on the DWTS stage - the season 5 opening pro dance. Up front and center! :)

Friday, June 18, 2010

Mark Ballas in Ballroom with a Twist

Mark will be performing in Ballroom with a Twist on July 17, 2010 at the Hershey Theatre in Hershey, Pennsylvania (15 E. Caracas Avenue • PO Box 395 • Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033 • (717) 534-3405).

In addition, Mark's season 5 partner Sabrina and his season 6 partner Kristi will both be appearing. Tickets range from $25.00 - $100.00 per person.

Ballroom with a Twist is directed and choreographed by Louis van Amstel. Check out this website for more information about the show: http://scottstander.com/ (click on Ballroom with a Twist).  To buy tickets and look at the seating chart, please go to: http://www.hersheytheatre.com/performances_events/details.php?id=11236

Thursday, June 17, 2010

@officialmballas in the studio - Day 3

Day 3! :) So far a couple of pics and a video have been posted. I'll keep adding to this post as new things come in. Enjoy!

The Way You Work: (this video looks to be from yesterday - day 2)


Mark's playground:
photo copyright Mark Ballas, 2010

Loren on keyboards!
photo copyright Mark Ballas, 2010

...

My mom, YouTube, & Team Shark (oh, and Marky too)

I introduced my mother to YouTube yesterday. I got her a new phone (the Palm Pixi) and it has a YouTube app. I showed her and she immediately said "OMG, I can watch Mark and Shawn dance on my phone??" Seriously, she's a hugeTeam Shark fan. HUGE. :)

Ok, so am I. ;)


Anyhoo, after watching a few Team Shark dances and a few Shawn gymnastics videos, I showed her the videos of Cheryl and Mark dancing for Cheryl's Philippine Disaster Fundraiser and she really enjoyed them. The charity event was back on December 20th, 2009 at the Cheryl Burke Dance Studio in San Francisco. They danced Mark and Shawn's Cha Cha from season 8 and Cheryl and Gilles' Tango from season 8. They learned the dances in only a half hour, if I remember right. :) Cheryl looks gorgeous (love the dresses) and Mark looks handsome (oh, and watch out ladies....bare chest! .... on Mark, not Cheryl. Because that would be a whole different kind of show.....)  I've posted the videos previously - if you would like to watch them again (highly recommended) you can see the post here: http://bewitchingballas.blogspot.com/2010/02/dance-for-cause-with-cheryl-burke.html

I'll add this video to the mix....a little behind the scenes video from the charity event. Cheryl and Mark taught a little bit at the fundraiser too. :)


The point of this post? Well, it's because 1) it's so cute to see my mom excited about Shark. She thinks they should get married. LOL and 2) watching the previously mentioned videos led mom and I to watch more videos and I came across this rehearsal video of the pros from season 9. I remember this one....Marky gets a little upset in this video. Angry!Marky. Me no likey. Me likey Happy!Marky. Yes. :D


But, aside from the brief second of Angry!Marky, this is a really cool video. I LOVE behind the scenes stuff for anything. I love to see how things work. How things are done. I love DVDs that give you hours of 'making of' footage. So fascinating. :) So, this one gave us a lot of footage of the pros rehearsing, which we don't get to see often on DWTS. They never show a rehearsal package before pro dances. *sadface*

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Mark & Melissa - Sept 14, 2009

Another oldie post ;)

Melissa Joan Hart and Mark attended a little Farewell & Good Luck party in Connecticut before season 9 of DWTS. Picapp has some photos from the event...here are a few. Be sure to check out the rest of the gallery at the website!

The party took place at the Tokeneke Club on September 14, 2009 in Darien, Connecticut.  Looks like it was a lovely party. :)


DARIEN, CT - SEPTEMBER 14:  Melissa Joan Hart and Mark Ballas attend a going away party for the ABC network program 'Dancing with the Stars' at the Tokeneke Club on September 14, 2009 in Darien, Connecticut.  (Photo by Christopher Capozziello/Getty Images)


DARIEN, CT - SEPTEMBER 14:  (L-R) Mark Ballas, Melissa Joan Hart and her husband Mark Wilkerson attend a going away party for the ABC network program 'Dancing with the Stars' at the Tokeneke Club on September 14, 2009 in Darien, Connecticut.  (Photo by Christopher Capozziello/Getty Images)

Photos copyright Christopher Capozziello/Getty Images

:D now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go laugh my bootie off at Craig Ferguson. ;) More Marky stuff tomorrow!

@officialmballas in the studio - Day 2 :)

A new video of Mark playing ukulele in the studio today:


Mark posted a few studio pics from today:

Got enough mics? :)
photo copyright Mark Ballas, 2010

And here is Dan Lutz listening to the playback of his bass playing :)
photo copyright Mark Ballas, 2010

And more pics from David Arthur :)
I love that the studio doubles as a kitchen. :D
photo copyright David Arthur, 2010

Mark and his ukulele :)
photo copyright David Arthur, 2010

Another red carpet video from the Birthday bash

Here's another video from the birthday party at H Lounge (Haute) on May 17, 2010. Lots of Mark in this one:

Video from @officialmballas in the studio

SimplyEsoteric posted a few videos of Mark in the studio yesterday. :)


Electric guitar:



Mark and Dan Lutz jamming on "Done":

Mark at House of Blues 6/12/10

Yay, finally some videos have been posted from the HOB show! Thanks mkasadate!

All Tied Up chorus:


All Tied Up guitar solo:
 





I Can't Help It:


Tuesday, June 15, 2010

@officialmballas at the Iowa State Fair, 2009

This post has been split into many posts. Check them out! :)

Mark & Shawn random photos from the Iowa State Fair, 2009

Mark at the Iowa State Fair Parade, 2009

Mark at the Iowa State Fair Opening Ceremonies, 2009

Mark at the Iowa State Fair Anderson Erickson stage, 2009

Mark Ballas in the recording studio

Mark is recording again :)

Here he is in the studio with Clappy (thanks to David Arthur for the pic)
photo copyright David Arthur, 2010

There is a fridge in that studio..... o.O

Mark posted this pic of the drummer:
photo copyright Mark Ballas, 2010

Mark also posted this pic of Travis Garland and him in the studio:
photo copyright Mark Ballas, 2010

They have recorded "Done" and "The Way You Work" and some new material as well. :D

Update: Mark posted this image last night (6/15/10) of his guitars at the recording studio:
photo copyright Mark Ballas, 2010