'Dancing with the Stars' Season 25 professional partners announced by ABC, Mark Ballas returns!

Dancing with the Stars' lineup of professional dancers for Season 25 this fall has been announced -- except for one "surprise" pro that will be announced at a later date.


The pro partners for next season were either revealed or confirmed during the Thursday, August 24 episode of Good Morning America. The group includes fan-favorite pro Mark Ballas, who took a two-season hiatus to get married and star in Jersey Boys on Broadway.

"It's been an amazing year. After a year off you kind of see it with a new light," Mark, 31, said on his GMA appearance. "I miss being creative and I miss my friends, and the timing was right [to come back]... I miss my fans... and doing what I do best."

In addition to Mark, the other professional dancers who will be participating on Dancing with the Stars next season are Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Peta Murgatroyd, reigning mirrorball champion Emma Slater, Keo Motsepe, Val Chmerkovskiy, Artem Chigvintsev, Sharna Burgess, Gleb Savchenko, Witney Carson, Lindsay Arnold, and Troupe member Alan Bersten, who will be making his debut as a DWTS pro partner.

Although the celebrity cast of Season 25 has yet to be officially announced, Mark teased that his partner "is a big reason why I'm here" and it's going to be "an awesome partnership." Mark added that he's looking forward to Season 25 and anticipates it's "going to be fun."


The unidentified pro and the entire cast of celebrities will be revealed September 6 on GMA, and Dancing with the Stars' 25th season is set to premiere Monday, September 18 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC.

Mark has competed on 18 seasons of Dancing with the Stars dating back to the show's fifth season. He won the mirrorball trophy in Season 6 with Kristi Yamaguchi and Season 8 with Shawn Johnson.

Ever since then, Mark has racked in three second-place finishes and three third-place finishes. Prior to taking a break, Mark claimed second place with Paige VanZant on Season 22.

Maksim joined Dancing with the Stars in Season 2 and served as a pro all the way up until Season 18 with the exceptions of Season 6, 16 and 17.

Despite announcing his DWTS retirement after winning Season 18 with Meryl Davis, Maksim came back for Season 23 and 24. Last season, Maksim had to sit out many performances with Heather Morris due to a calf injury.


Lindsay, a former So You Think You Can Dance contestant, will be taking the stage as a pro dancer for the sixth time on DWTS.

Following two third-place finishes with Alek Skarlatos and Calvin Johnson Jr., Lindsay claimed second place on Season 24 with the show's first-ever professional baseball player, David Ross.

Sharna made her debut on DWTS' 16th season. She finished Season 20 in third place with Noah Galloway, Season 21 in second place with Nick Carter, Season 22 in fourth place with Antonio Brown, and Season 23 in second place with James Hinchcliffe.

Last season, Sharna was the focus of dating rumors with her partner Bonner Bolton. The couple placed fifth in the standings.

Gleb competed on Season 16 of Dancing with the Stars with Lisa Vanderpump, Season 23 with Jana Kramer, and Season 24 with Erika Jayne. The highest Gleb ever finished on the reality dancing competition was fourth place with Jana.
 
Val joined the show in Season 13 and will be participating in his 13th edition.


Val is a two-time mirrorball trophy champion, as he won Season 20 with Rumer Willis and Season 23 with Laurie Hernandez. He also boasts one second-place finish and four third-place finishes. Last season, Val placed third with Normani Kordei.
  
Artem served as a member of the Dancing with the Stars Troupe before appearing as a first-time pro in Season 19, during which he finished in sixth place with Lea Thompson. 

Artem, however, wasn't able to place higher than sixth in his four subsequent seasons on Dancing with the Stars. Last season, Artem and partner Nancy Kerrigan finished in seventh place.
  
Emma joined Dancing with the Stars in Season 17 and placed fourth with Bill Engvall. Following five seasons in which her highest placement was seventh, Emma finally won a mirrorball trophy with Rashad Jennings on Season 24.

Witney, a former So You Think You Can Dance contestant and DWTS Troupe member, made her debut as a pro on Season 18.

Carson won Season 19 with Alfonso Ribeiro and placed fourth in Season 21 with Carlos PenaVega, but she hasn't had much luck since then. Last season, Witney claimed twelfth place with partner Chris Kattan.

Peta Murgatroyd, a new mom, will be gracing the stage again for her eleventh season.


Peta made her debut as a pro on Season 13 and was the first pairing voted out, however, she went on to win DWTS' 14th season with celebrity partner Donald Driver. She placed fourth on Season 18 and eventually won Season 22 with Nyle DiMarco. Last season, Peta placed seventh with Nick Viall.

Keo will be appearing on the reality dancing competition for his sixth season. In Season 22, he finished in sixth place with Jodie Sweetin after having difficulty making it past Week 3 on the show. Keo took a break for Season 23 but returned for Season 24, when he finished in eleventh place with Charo.

Alan was a ballroom contestant on Season 10 of So You Think You Can Dance and made it to the Top 12.

Alan then joined the Dancing with the Stars Troupe. However, Alan stepped in to rehearse and perform on the show multiple times with Paige VanZant on Season 22 and Heather Morris on Season 24 when their professional partners -- Val and Maksim, respectively -- were injured. Now it's Alan's time to shine.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski