Shirley Ballas is a British ballroom dancer, teacher and adjudicator. She specialises in the International Latin division, where she won several championship titles earning her the nickname, "The Queen of Latin".
Raised in Wallasey, UK, Ballas was first married to her professional dance partner and fellow Briton Sammy Stopford. They came second in the 1982, 1983 & 1985 Professional World Latin Dance Championships. The pair won the 1983 International Latin American Dance Championship, and were the 1984 UK Open Champions in Professional Latin. Later, she married Corky Ballas.
Together they won the International Latin American Dance Championship for 1995, at the Royal Albert Hall in London. They met at a Latin competition in Montreal, Canada. The pair moved to Houston, Texas to compete in the USA. Their only child, professional ballroom dancer Mark Ballas, was born in 1986.
