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NEW YORK<\/strong> \u2013 Mark Ballas is returning to Broadway in \u201cChicago\u201d<\/a> and the \u201cDancing with the Stars\u201d<\/a> pro will be reuniting with an old friend.<\/p>\n Ballas, playing slippery lawyer Billy Flynn starting April 6, will share the stage with his Roxie,<\/a> Whitney Leavitt, the \u201cSecret Lives of Mormon Wives\u201d star who was his dancing partner on \u201cDancing with the Stars\u201d last year.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s going to be so fun. We work so well together,” says Ballas, a three-time Mirrorball Trophy winner who has who has done stints on Broadway before in \u201cJersey Boys\u201d<\/a> and \u201cKinky Boots.\u201d<\/a> \u201cI never thought I\u2019d be surprised by things that come from the show, but here we are.\u201d<\/p>\n This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.<\/p>\n AP: You were originally a theater kid, right?<\/p>\n BALLAS: Yeah, I started when I was 11 at the Italia Conti Academy of Theater Arts in the U.K. They have a high school portion and a college portion. So I did the high school for five years and then I did college for three years. Musical theater and music were my majors.<\/p>\n AP: How did you start your career?<\/p>\n BALLAS: I grew up in England, so I was out there auditioning for West End shows. This is actually a wild, full-circle moment: One of the first shows I auditioned for was \u201cChicago\u201d in the West End. I got right down to the end. I was only 18, still paying my dues, trying to figure it out. So this is super full circle.<\/p>\n AP: You didn’t get it back then?<\/p>\n BALLAS: No. I went in for the ensemble. I got right down to the end. I think I had like four or five callbacks and in the end, I was too short. I was joking with them. I was like, \u201cYou know, my height was on the resume!\u201d <\/p>\n AP: The stars seemed to aligning when you and Whitney performed \u201cCell Block Tango\u201d from \u201cChicago\u201d on \u201cDancing with the Stars.\u201d<\/p>\n BALLAS: We did \u201cCell Block Tango\u201d because we had to pick a song that a previous couple had danced to. \u201cDancing with the Stars\u201d has a bit of strategy to it and you want to have your banger numbers at the right time. So when I saw the list of music, \u201cCell Block Tango\u201d was on that list. We just picked that song and it\u2019s all very serendipitous. The next week, Whitney was going to audition.<\/p>\n AP: Now you’re together again, this time on Broadway.<\/p>\n BALLAS: I had been in talks with \u201cChicago\u201d on and off over the years. The timing just didn\u2019t really work out. Whitney booked the gig and then I sent in tapes, went in for my audition and that tango happened, Whitney went in for it and then they were interested in having me. So it just like it was meant to be, you know.<\/p>\n AP: You were in New York recently to get ready?<\/p>\n BALLAS: I\u2019ve already learned the show. I\u2019m ready to go. I went and watched it every night. That\u2019s part of my learning process. Like when I did \u201cJersey Boys,\u201d I did the same thing. When I did \u201cKinky Boots,\u201d I did same thing. I\u2019ll go have my rehearsals \u2014 I take my little notepad \u2014 and then I\u2019ll watch what I rehearsed and see it on its feet. I think that\u2019s probably the dancer in me.<\/p>\n AP: Do you have a long history with \u201cChicago?\u201d<\/p>\n BALLAS: I love this musical. I grew up learning this music. Going into the rehearsal, I knew these songs backwards. Over my lifetime, I\u2019ve probably seen the stage show 30-plus times. When I think of iconic, classic theater, I think of \u201cChicago,\u201d I think of \u201cLes Mis\u00e9rables,\u201d I think of \u201cThe Phantom of the Opera,\u201d \u201cJesus Christ Superstar.\u201d <\/p>\n AP: What’s it like to join the longest-running American musical in Broadway history?<\/p>\n BALLAS: To be a part of that legacy and to step into this character that\u2019s held so much weight for so many years \u2014 and had iconic people like Usher, Patrick Swayze play this role \u2014 is very cool.<\/p>\n AP: It also has dancing inspired by the great Bob Fosse. As a dancer, how do you view him?<\/p>\n BALLAS: When someone asks me, \u201cWho is your favorite dancer or choreographer of all time?\u201d I would say Bob Fosse. I\u2019m always trying to have my stuff look so clean, that my partner and I are doing the same things at the same time, and that concaved, kind of tortured style. I love that. <\/p>\n AP: Is it true you were an extra in some of the \u201cHarry Potter\u201d movies? How did that happen?<\/p>\n BALLAS: Because you needed so many kids to be extras, they used all the theater schools for kids that were interested in film and theater and acting. So they hired all those kids to be the extras. I was an extra in the first three.<\/p>\n AP: Can we spot you?<\/p>\n