Corky Ballas

Mark Alexander Ballas Sr. (born December 25, 1960), known as Corky Ballas, is an American retired competitive ballroom dancer who holds several Latin dance championship titles. His son, Mark Ballas, is a professional dancer on Dancing with the Stars. His father was George Ballas, who invented the Weed Eater lawn-trimming device. Personal life Ballas was born in Houston, Texas. He is the son of Mexican-American Maria Marulanda and Greek-American George Ballas, the inventor of the Weed Eater lawn-trimming device. His paternal grandparents, Karolos ("Charles") Ballas and Maria Lymnaos were immigrants to the United States from Greece. He has three sisters, Michelle, Maria, and Lillian, and one brother, George. He has one son, Mark Ballas. Corky and Shirley Ballas also raised and trained Julianne Hough and Derek Hough. Corky now teaches dancing in San Antonio via his dancing studio, and his website. His plans for the future include more television performances as well as an online interactive dance instruction via hundreds of videos.