ABC Announces Pairings For Dancing With The Stars, Begins 9/20

The Season 11 star-studded cast and their professional partners get ready to break in their dancing shoes on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" for the long awaited two-hour season premiere, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 (8:00-10:01 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

In alphabetical order, and with their professional partners, the 12 stars making their dancing debut are:

· MICHAEL BOLTON, Grammy (R) Award-winning singer, teams up with Chelsie Hightower, who returns for her fourth season.

· BRANDY, actress and singer, joins Maksim Chmerkovskiy, who is back for his ninth season.

· Margaret Cho, comedienne and actress, partners with Louis van Amstel, who returns for his seventh season.

· Rick Fox, former NBA champion, teams up with two-time champ Cheryl Burke, who is back for her tenth season.

· Jennifer Grey, beloved film and television actress, joins two-time mirror ball champion Derek Hough for his seventh season.

· David Hasselhoff, international superstar, teams up with Season 9 champion Kym Johnson, who returns to "Dancing with the Stars" for her eighth season.

· Florence Henderson, America's favorite mom, joins CORKY BALLAS for his second season on the show.

· Kyle Massey, television teen star, partners up with Lacey Schwimmer, who is back for her third season.

· BRISTOL PALIN, teen advocate and Alaska's first daughter, teams up with two-time champ Mark Ballas, who returns for his seventh season.

· Audrina Patridge, MTV reality star, joins Tony Dovolani, who is back for his tenth season.

· MICHAEL "The Situation" SORRENTINO, Jersey Shore ab-man, teams up with Karina Smirnoff, who returns for her eighth season of "Dancing with the Stars."

· KURT WARNER, former pro-NFL quarterback, joins Anna Trebunskaya, who returns for her sixth season.

All 12 teams will showcase their fancy footwork for the first time on MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 (8:00-10:01 p.m., ET). The first elimination will take place in week one with a two-hour show, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET) on the season premiere of "Dancing with the Stars the Results Show." Music legend Santana and rock band Daughtry are set to perform.

Hosted by Tom Bergeron ("America's Funniest Home Videos") and Brooke Burke ("Dancing with the Stars" Season 7 champion), the celebrities perform choreographed dance routines which will be judged by renowned Ballroom judge Len Goodman and dancer/choreographers Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba.

Viewers may cast their votes for their favorite teams via phone on Monday night during and up to 30 minutes after the "Dancing with the Stars" performance shows. AT&T customers may also text message their votes by texting the word "VOTE" and entering the number that corresponds to the team they want to support (message and data rates may apply). Viewers may also vote online at www.abc.com starting from the opening of each episode on the East Coast.

"Dancing with the Stars" is the U.S. version of the international smash hit series, "Strictly Come Dancing." This version is produced by BBC Worldwide Productions. Conrad Green serves as executive producer and Rob Wade is co-executive producer. Alex Rudzinski directs. "Dancing with the Stars" is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format, with 5.1 channel surround sound.

About BBC Worldwide Productions:

BBC Worldwide is the main commercial arm and wholly-owned subsidiary of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). In the U.S., BBC Worldwide Productions, one of BBC Worldwide's seven core businesses, is based in Los Angeles and New York. It is responsible for the smash hit "Dancing with the Stars" and develops scripted and non-scripted projects for U.S. cable and broadcast networks.

Photo credit: Joseph F. Panarello

To post a comment, you must register and login.