Mark Ballas Reflects on ‘Nostalgic’ Return to ‘DWTS’ After 5 Seasons and Reuniting With ‘Bro’ Derek Hough

usmagazine.com:

Make way for Mark Ballas! The pro dancer returned to the Dancing With the Stars ballroom for season 31 after a five-year break — and he couldn’t be more excited.“It felt great,” Ballas, 36, told Us Weekly and other reporters after the Monday, September 19, season premiere, during which he and partner Charli D’Amelio achieved the highest score of the night. “It felt the same but new, fresh [and] nostalgic. … It was a good time.

It felt really good tonight.”The Texas native and the TikTok star, 18, performed a cha-cha to “Savage (Major Lazer Remix)” by Megan Thee Stallion and were a hit with all of the judges — including Ballas’ close pal Derek Hough.

The twosome have a long history, even competing against one another on DWTS throughout the years before Hough, 37, joined the judges panel during season 29.“You know, Derek and I have been friends since we were 10,” the Emmy nominee gushed of his “bro” on Monday. “Like, we’ve lived together, we went to school together every day.

Dude used to steal my clothes. Like, we’re friends, you know what I mean? Brothers even. So it was really cool to be out here and … it was funny seeing him on the judges table ’cause I haven’t been here since he’s done that.”The Broadway vet made his DWTS debut on the fifth season in 2007 with Cheetah Girls star Sabrina Bryan, finishing the season in seventh place.