The "Dancing with the Stars curse" has apparently struck yet again.
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Professional dancer Mark Ballas, who won the ABC reality ballroom competition's sixth-season mirror ball trophy with Olympic gold medalist figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi back in May, has announced he will need to sit out "a couple of weeks" of the show's winter tour while he recuperates from a groin injury, People reported Sunday.
Ballas revealed his injury on Saturday night to the Staples Center crowd that had come out to see the tour's Los Angeles show, which had been scheduled to include performances from Ballas and Yamaguchi.
In addition to Ballas and Yamaguchi, the show also included performances from other Dancing with the Stars alum such as singers Lance Bass and Toni Braxton, Olympic gold medalist track star Maurice Greene, Oscar-winning actress Marlee Matlin, and professional dancers Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Derek Hough, Kym Johnson, Lacey Schwimmer, Edyta Sliwinska, Karina Smirnoff and Fabien Sanchez.
Despite the injury, Ballas still reportedly managed to perform twice during the Los Angeles show -- once with Yamaguchi and a second time with Schwimmer and Hough, his fellow Dancing with the Stars champion and bandmate. Ballas was visibly grimacing in pain as he apologized for not being able to give the crowd a full performance, according to People.
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Prior to performing on the tour, Ballas had participated in Dancing with the Stars' seventh season with Keeping Up with the Kardashians star Kim Kardashian. The couple was the third dance team to be eliminated from the competition.
There are 32 dates remaining on the Dancing with the Stars' winter tour schedule before it concludes on February 8, 2009 in Philadelphia, PA.
About The Author: John Bracchitta