'Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars' professional partner pairings revealed by ABC

Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars' professional partner pairings have been revealed by ABC.


Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars -- the ballroom dancing competition's first all-stars edition in fifteen seasons -- will feature 12 returning contestants selected by the show's producers and an additional thirteenth celebrity who will be determined by viewer voting.

Similar to the celebrities, Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars' professional partners will all be returning dancers: Mark Ballas, Cheryl Burke, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Val Chmerkovskiy, Tony Dovolani, Chelsie Hightower, Derek Hough, Kym Johnson, Tristan MacManus, Peta Murgatroyd, Karina Smirnoff, and Anna Trebunskaya.

The six returning female celebrities selected by Dancing with the Stars producers are Kirstie Alley, Pamela Anderson, Shawn Johnson, Kelly Monaco, Bristol Palin, and Melissa Rycroft, while the six male celebrities are Helio Castroneves, Joey Fatone, Drew Lachey, Gilles Marini, Apolo Anton Ohno, and Emmitt Smith.

Dancing with the Stars viewers will get to chose between three celebrities -- Sabrina Bryan, Carson Kressley or Kyle Massey -- for the thirteenth slot on Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars, which will premiere Monday, September 24 at 8PM ET/PT. Voting for the "Viewers' Choice: All-Star" began last late month and will continue through August 24.


Ballas will be partnered with Palin, whom he was originally finished third with on Dancing with the Stars' eleventh season in 2010. He previously won Dancing with the Stars' sixth season with Kristi Yamaguchi, its eighth edition with Johnson, and is returning for his eleventh season.

Burke will compete with Smith, with whom she won Dancing with the Stars' third season in 2006.  She also previously won Dancing with the Stars' second edition with Drew Lachey and is returning for her fourteenth season.

Maksim Chmerkovskiy, who is participating in his thirteenth season, will be partnered with Alley, whom he finished second with on Dancing with the Stars' twelfth season in 2011. His younger brother Val Chmerkovskiy -- who joined Dancing with the Stars two seasons ago -- will be paired with Monaco, who won Dancing with the Stars' inaugural season in 2005 with partner Alec Mazo, who has not competed on the show since Season 9.

Dovolani, who is back for his fourteenth season, will dance with Rycroft, whom he finished third with on Dancing with the Stars' eighth season in 2009.

Hightower, a former So You Think You Can Dance contestant who will be participating in her seventh Dancing with the Stars season, will be paired with Castroneves. Castroneves won Dancing with the Stars' fifth season in 2007 with Julianne Hough, however Hough has not competed on the show since she was paired with then-boyfriend Chuck Wicks for the eighth season in 2009.


Derek Hough will be partnered with Shawn Johnson and participating in his tenth Dancing with the Stars edition. Shawn Johnson won Dancing with the Stars' eighth season with Ballas in 2009, but Ballas will be competing with Palin for the all-stars edition. However Shawn Johnson will still be in very capable hands, as Derek Hough has previously won Dancing with the Stars' seventh season with Brooke Burke, tenth season with Nicole Scherzinger, and eleventh season with Jennifer Grey.

Kym Johnson -- who won Dancing with the Stars' ninth season with Donny Osmond and twelfth season with Hines Ward -- will compete with Fatone, whom she finished second with on Dancing with the Stars' fourth season in 2007.  She will be participating in her twelfth Dancing with the Stars season.

MacManus will be partnered with Anderson, who finished in sixth place with partner Damian Whitewood on Dancing with the Stars' tenth season in 2010. Whitewood has not competed on Dancing with the Stars since the show's tenth season.

Murgatroyd will dance with Marini, who finished in second place with Burke on Dancing with the Stars' eighth season in 2009. Similar to Johnson, Marini will still be in good hands as Murgatroyd won Dancing with the Stars' fourteenth season with Donald Driver this past spring despite competing in her only her second Dancing with the Stars edition.

Smirnoff, who won Dancing with the Stars' thirteenth edition with J.R. Martinez, will be partnered with Ohno, who won Dancing with the Stars' fourth season with Julianne Hough in 2007. Smirnoff will be competing in her twelfth Dancing with the Stars season.


Trebunskaya, who is participating in her tenth season, will dance with Lachey, who won Dancing with the Stars' second season with Burke in 2006.






About The Author: Steven Rogers