Season 9 Pairs Announced

Hello, Dance Fans. The professional dancer/"star" pairs were announced today.

I wonder how they are determined? Perhaps someone thinks it's Kym's turn to win because she's paired with Donny Osmond. She deserves a chance at the sparkly mirror ball trophy after having suffered through Jerry Springer and Penn Jillette. Two-time winner Cheryl, on the other hand, has Tom DeLay. I'm not sure I hold out a lot of hope for him...in spite of the fact that his daughter apparently is a professional dancer. Maybe he'll surprise me.

Anyway, the pairings...along with the backgrounds of each of the professional dancers...are shown below:


Alec Mazo
CELEBRITY PARTNER: Natalie Coughlin
BACKGROUND: We all came to know this guy four years ago as the dancer who famously became the first professional champion of Dancing with the Stars, having successfully partnered with Kelly Monaco in Season 1.Alec Mazo has been dancing since he was five years old. He moved to America from Russia with his family when he was 12. His mother started a dance studio in San Francisco, and today Alec runs two ballroom dance schools—one in the San Francisco Bay Area and another in Los Angeles. Mazo and his wife—fellow DWTS pro Edyta Swilinska—only turned professional in 2005, having been successful amateur Latin competitors for the previous five years. He studied acting at Playhouse West. In 1998, Alec appeared in the Vanessa Williams (of ABC's Ugly Betty) movie Dance with Me. He has also had roles in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and CSI: NY. Alec has a BA in Cognitive Science from University of California in Berkeley.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
--Emerald Ball Latin Amateur Champion
--1st Place - 2001 International Grand Ball (San Francisco)
--1st Place - 2001 Holiday Ball (Las Vegas, Nevada)
--Six-time U.S. National Finalist

Anna Demidova
CELEBRITY PARTNER: Michael Irvin
BACKGROUND: This blonde beauty made her DWTS debut in the celebrity round of the Season 8 pro-dancer competition. She eventually won, which clinched us getting to watch her cut a rug as a Season 9 professional. Anna was born in Moscow, Russia. She started dancing when she was just 6 years old in an after school program at the local community center, following in the footsteps of her older sister, world champion Katusha Demidova. At the age of 15, Anna won the British Open Junior Ballroom Championship and the Ireland Open Championship. After finishing high school in Moscow, Anna moved to New York to live with her sister and pursue her dancing career. She began dancing with Andrei Begunov, with whom she was very successful. After becoming the United States Youth Champions in 2005 and 2006, they represented the U.S. at the World Championships where they made the finals. They also placed 1st at the Ohio Star Ball, Kings Ball, Tri Sate Challenge, BYU Championship and many more competitions in the youth category. After her partnership with Andrei ended, Anna started dancing with Igor Mikushov, with whom she won many competitions such as the Ohio Star Ball, Emerald Ball, Manhattan DanceSport Championship, Tri State Championship and San Francisco Open. They were also Blackpool Under 21 Ballroom Finalists, United Kingdom Open Finalists and International Championship Grand Finalists. Practicing and teaching takes up most of Anna's time, but in her spare time she has also taken up modeling, which she has been doing since moving to New York three years ago.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
--International Grand Ball 10 Dance Champion
--USA Dance National Standard Champion
--2 Time U.S. Youth International Standard Champion

Anna Trebunskaya
CELEBRITY PARTNER: Chuck Liddell
BACKGROUND: A native of Russia, Anna has been dancing ever since she was six years old. We're thinking it was only natural, as her parents owned a dance studio. She took part in her first competition at the age of seven. And guess what? She won! It was the start of a trend, as she's been winning awards and accolades as an amateur and pro ever since! Anna moved to the U.S. with her parents in 1998 when she was 17. Both mom and dad were professional ballroom dancers, and her mother still makes her costumes today. Way to keep it all in the family, Anna! In Season Two of DWTS, Anna paired with football great Jerry Rice to make the finals, and ultimately a second place finish. In Season Five, she paired with model Albert Reed and in Season 6 she danced with actor/funnyman Steve Guttenberg. But none of those pairings compare to the one she has offstage. We just love the fact that Anna is married to fellow DWTS pro Jonathan Roberts. Wonder if they carpool to work.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
--International Grand Ball Champion
--U.K. Championships
--International Grand Ball Champion
--2004 USA Rising Star Latin Champion
--2003 Blackpool Rising Star Latin Finalist
--1998 USA Amateur Youth Standard (Ballroom) Champion

Chelsie Hightower
CELEBRITY PARTNER: Louie Vito
BACKGROUND: We're all pretty impressed that Chelsie has accomplished so much at such a young age. Do you realize that ever since she began competing at a high-level in ballroom, Chelsie has been in the finals and ranked as one of the top three couples in the country?! Not bad. Not bad at all. In 2006, Chelsie was a finalist on TV's So You Think You Can Dance where one judge said, "You move so well, you could make a mannequin look good." That's good news for some of the guys around here who look quite wooden whenever they try to bust a move. Chelsie has been helping other learn to dance since she was 15. She moved to North Carolina to teach and would fly to New York on weekends for lessons. She has been teaching at Center Stage in Utah where she's helped many students win national titles. She also teaches abroad. As busy as you are, Chelsie, we're so glad you found some time to do a little Dancing With The Stars!
ACHIEVEMENTS:
--U.S. Representative to the Worlds - 2005
--U.S National Standard Finalist - 2005
--International Latin Finalist - 2006
--10 Dance National Youth Champion - 2005

Cheryl Burke
CELEBRITY PARTNER: Tom DeLay
BACKGROUND: As the only professional dancer to appear in the DWTS finals three times, Cheryl has won over audiences with her creative choreography and effervescent personality. We suspect her dangerously low cut dresses might have something to do with it, too. Cheryl joined the show in the second season with a bang, winning back-to-back disco ball trophies with partner Drew Lachey in Season 2, and then with Emmitt Smith in Season 3. But don't let her sweet smile fool you—this girl has some sizzling hot moves and knows just how to show them off! "We want people to think something is going on, on the dance floor," says Cheryl. "You want people to be so uncomfortable watching it because we are going to be so sexy." Cheryl started ballet lessons at age 4 and was soon performing throughout her native Bay Area. "But at 11, I went to a competition and saw the costumes, heard the music, and loved that the dancers had partners," Burke explains. Incidentally, these are all the same reasons why we love DWTS! By the age of 13, Cheryl was traveling and competing throughout the world, later moving on to win several championships. Some of her triumphs include being the 2005 Ohio Star Ball Rising Star Champion, 2005 San Francisco Open Latin Champion and 2005 World Cup Professional Rising Star Latin Champion. Burke also clinched several UK Championship titles, and scored a fourth place showing in the U.S. "Under 21s" division. Capitalizing on her success with DWTS, Cheryl has started her own line of clothing and dance studio, Cheryl Burke Dance, with several locations throughout California. You also may have seen her as a guest star on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
--2005 World Cup Professional Rising Star Latin Champion
--2005 San Francisco Open Latin Champion
--2005 Ohio Star Ball Rising Star Champion
--U.K. Championships
--4th in U.S. in the Under 21s

Derek Hough
CELEBRITY PARTNER: Joanna Krupa
BACKGROUND: For Derek, Dancing with the Stars is more than a competition—it's sibling rivalry. He not only dances against his younger sister Julianne, but also his best friend Mark Ballas. Derek started dancing at age 11. Just one year later, he and Julianne left their hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah, and moved to London to live and train with their dance coaches Shirley and Corky Ballas. He and their son Mark Ballas, also on Dancing with the Stars, are still best friends and perform in a band called the Ballas Hough Band. "In dancing, there's a lot of acting involved, and you have to combine both of them (the dancing and the acting) to put on a show, because that's our job." A multi-talented entertainer, Derek also performed on London's West End and played the lead in Footloose. One of the dancers on the first Dancing with the Stars Tour and a choreographer on the BBC (UK) hit show, Dance X, he recently took a break from competitive dance to focus on acting and singing. Derek danced with Polish dancer Aneta Piotrowska, who appeared on the Polish version of Dancing with the Stars. Derek says, "I loved doing the Rumba. It was amazing because everything was 100% genuine." Professionalism really comes into play when both partners are talented, but have no chemistry with each other. He feels as long as both people come across like they're having a good time, they can have a successful partnership. Derek would rather lose a competition knowing that he danced his absolute best, than win thinking he didn't deserve it. Even though he was not always technically the best in competitions, he concentrated on his connection with his partner and the audience. He really loves the recognition from his all his fans, especially the Latin dance fans who know the hard work and dedication it takes.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
--World Under 21 Latin American Champion
--Two-time Open British Champion (Blackpool)
--Two-time International 'Open to the World Champion'
--Two-time US Open Champion

Dmitry Chaplin
CELEBRITY PARTNER: Mya
BACKGROUND: We first saw this young pro transition from So You Think You Can Dance to DWTS last season, when he was paired up with Holly Madison. Now he's shuffling back for more action in Season 9! Dmitry's ballroom dancing career began at the age of 12 in his home town of Rostov–on-Don in Russia. His perfect combination of technique and performance soon got him noticed by judges and teachers in his home country. After moving to the United States, his commitment to dance brought him to work with some of the best coaches in the ballroom world, including Louis Van Amstel and Shirley Ballas. Dmitry studied in both America and the United Kingdom, and began representing the U.S. at famous ballroom competitions around the world as one of the best dancers in the Under 21 division. In 2006, Dmitry's dance career took a different course when he joined the cast of the hit TV show So You Think You Can Dance. He became one of the Top 10 dancers, representing the ballroom world and establishing himself as an audience favorite. In the following season, Dmitry was invited back to choreograph for the show both in the U.S and for its international versions. Dmitry became the winner in the 2002 English Open Championships and a semi-finalist in the 2003 International Open to the World. That same year, Dmitry became the Open to the World Grandprix Champion (held in Tokyo) and was a semi finalist in the Dutch Open World Championships. In 2006 he was invited to represent the United States in the U.S. National Championships where he became a finalist.Dmitry also performed in the 2008 Idol Gives Back fundraiser for American Idol, and served as a judge the Broadway Dreams Dance Competition in Canada that same year.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
--Ohio Star Ball Latin Finalist 2005
--U.S. National Finalist 2006

Edyta Sliwinska
CELEBRITY PARTNER: Ashley Hamilton
ACKGROUND: Edyta, who is known as much for her daring costumes as her dance moves, is the only professional dancer to appear on all eight seasons of Dancing With The Stars occasionally against her husband, Alex Mazo, winner of the first season of Dancing With The Stars. In 2000, Edyta left her native Poland to pursue her dream of becoming a world famous Latin dancer. She settled in San Franciso and partnered with Alex Mazo. Together, they won first place in the 2001 International Grand Ball and the 2001 Holiday Ball. The sacrifices she and her family made definitely paid off! After five years as dance partners, Edyta found herself competing against Alex on the first season of Dancing With The Stars. The competition obviously hasn't hurt their chemistry; they were married in 2007. She has travelled with the Dancing With The Stars tour and was also featured in the fiction section of the Dancing With The Stars book. Performing has sparked Edyta's interest in acting. With guest starring roles in popular TV shows, her talent in dance must be spilling over. "This is something that besides dancing I enjoy most. I know getting into acting is very tough, but if I have a little chance to do it,I''m really happy and I really have a great time doing it."
ACHIEVEMENTS:
--Emerald Ball Latin Amateur Champion
--1st Place - 2001 International Grand Ball (San Francisco)
--1st Place - 2001 Holiday Ball (Las Vegas, Nevada)

Jonathan Roberts
CELEBRITY PARTNER: Macy Gray
BACKGROUND: One of the highlights of Jonathan's performances on Dancing with the Stars was his tango with Steve Guttenberg in Season 6, famously called the "mango." Who knew this former basketball jock would become a world class ballroom dancer? We certainly would have never predicted it! The tango scene in the Al Pacino film Scent of a Woman sparked Jonathon's interest in dance. He took advantage of the free ballroom lesson offered on his movie ticket stub, and the rest is history. It was as much of a shock to Jonathan as it was to his family and friends when he discovered his dormant passion. At age 20, Jonathan got a late start in dancing, where most competitors are training practically after they're crawling. He quickly made up for it when he and his former partner won the 1997 USA Rising Star American Ballroom. Jonathan and his wife, fellow DWTS professional Anna Trebunskaya, have been dancing as partners for over six years. Although they've performed together for a relatively short time, they have made outstanding achievements in competitions around the world.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
--2008 World Smooth Champion
--2008 United States Smooth Champion
--2004 USA Rising Star Latin Champion
--2003 Blackpool Rising Star Latin
--1997 USA Rising Star American Ballroom
--2 times undefeated USA pro-am 10 dance champions
--3 times undefeated USA pro-am Latin champions
--2 times USA pro-am American Ballroom champion

Karina Smirnoff
CELEBRITY PARTNER: Aaron Carter
BACKGROUND: Karina was born in the Ukraine before she made her way to the U.S. with her family at the age of 12. And speaking of her family, we're giving a great big shout out to Karina's folks for getting her started with ballet lessons when she was five. Think they had any idea what they started?!At the age of nine, Karina was introduced to ballroom dancing and fell in love with it. After high school, she graduated from Fordham University but put her academic studies on hold to pursue her ballroom dancing career in the United Kingdom.We first fell in love with Karina during Season 3 when she swung into a second place finish with partner Mario Lopez. Not bad for a DWTS rookie. The next season she finished fifth with Billy Ray Cyrus. The two would team up again after their last dance when Karina guest starred on Hannah Montana.Karina and her former partner Slavik Kryklyvyy shared tremendous success winning the U.S. Championships and many other world titles and were ranked second in the world in the Latin division.Some of the guys around here were bummin' when they heard fellow pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy popped the question to Karina on New Year's Eve of 2008. The happy couple continued their professional relationship as well, having spent the summer of 2009 performing in Broadway's Burn the Floor. That's great for the theater crowd, but we just can't to see Karina burn the floor on the DWTS stage!
ACHIEVEMENTS:
--Five-time U.S. National Champion
--World Trophy Champion
--Asian Open Champion

Kym Johnson
CELEBRITY PARTNER: Donny Osmond
BACKGROUND: If you're wondering who to thank for introducing Kym to the world of ballroom dancing, look no further than her immediate family. No, it wasn't her parents. It was her brother! Apparently, he thought dancing would be a good way to meet girls, so Kym was dragged along to the lessons. Way to go, bro! It wasn't long before Kym was dancing competitively. In December 1998, she and then-partner Tomas Atkocevicius came second at the Australian DanceSport Championships in the Open Amateur Modern Ballroom. However, we got our first DWTS glimpse of Kym she was paired with Jerry Springer in Season 3. Remember how Kym and Jerry were such fan favorites during their impressive run, which ended with a 5th Place finish? She stepped things up in Season 4 when she dazzled us on her way to a second place finish with Joey Fatone. Loved it! You could say Kym "got down under" when she appeared on Dancing with the Stars (Australia). She also appeared in several TV ads as well as a sexy modeling shoot for FHM magazine. But even though the camera loves her, you can't keep Kym off the dance floor for long, as she also performed on the world tour of the modern ballroom stage show Burn the Floor. Other highlights of her successful career include dancing at Elton John's 50th birthday party and appearing in the hit movie Strictly Ballroom. But we'll always love her for Dancing With The Stars!
ACHIEVEMENTS:
--Former Australian Amateur Ballroom and Latin champion
--Finalist U.K. Ballroom Championships at Blackpool
--Burn The Floor world tour
--Dancing With The Stars Australia - Seasons 1, 2 and 3

Lacey Schwimmer
CELEBRITY PARTNER: Mark Decascos
BACKGROUND: Given the amount of fancy footwork that's come from this Dancing with the Stars alum's household, we're pretty sure she's got what it takes to step up to the competition for a third time. Lacey was born into a family of championship dancers and grew up in Moreno Valley, California. Her parents are Laurie Kauffman and noted West Coast Swing dancer, Buddy Schwimmer. She is the younger sister of Benji Schwimmer, winner of the second season of So You Think You Can Dance. Although she began dancing at age 6, it wasn't until she hit her teens that she realized that this was what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. She was chosen as one of the Top 20 contestants for season 3 of So You Think You Can Dance on FOX. Schwimmer has finished top at the U.S. Open Swing Dance Championships and has won numerous U.S. titles. Some of her appearances we've seen her in include Christina Aguilera's pop video clip "Candyman" as a jitterbugger, a cameo appearance in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody in the episode, "Loosely Ballroom", and Jon Chu and Adam Sevani's Biggest Online Dance Battle against M&M. Lacey danced at the MTV Movie Awards 2008 alongside Adam Sandler and was cast to dance in Adam Shankman's film Bedtime Stories starring Adam Sandler. Currently Lacey is part of the iHollywood Dance faculty and is also teaching master classes in Norway.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
--2007 - 1st Place: World Swing Dance Championships
--7 time US Open Swing Dance Champion
--2007 - So You Think You Can Dance Finalist
--2006 - 1st Place: US National Youth Latin Championships
--2006 - Emerald Ball Youth Latin Champion

Louis Van Amstel
CELEBRITY PARTNER: Kelly Osbourne
BACKGROUND: Trivia time—did you know that in addition to competing in five previous seasons of the show, this Emmy-nominated dancer is also the coach of fellow DWTS pro Dmitry Chaplin? Louis van Amstel began his dance career at an early age, training in a theatre school and gaining a solid background in ballet, tap, and jazz. Upon graduating, Louis attended the University of the Arts in Amsterdam to further strengthen his skills in the classical dances and theory. Upon immigrating to the United States, Louis quickly became the U.S. National Latin Champion in 2000 and founded the company VanDance, LLC. Through VanDance Louis directed, choreographed and performed in Latin Fusion, a feature production on Broadway. Louis has a strong psychological approach to teaching. He trains under legendary dance guru Dr. Ruud Vermeij, who has a holistic approach towards dancing. Louis is also a student of Laban choreology and is well-versed in human movement dynamics. Additionally, van Amstel has appeared on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, All My Children and So You Think You Can Dance.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
--United States Professional Latin American champion (2000)
--Seven-Time Dutch National Amateur Champion
--World Professional Showdance Champion ('96)
--Professional World Latin Finalist (1996)
--European Amateur Latin Champion ('95)
--World Amateur Latin Champion ('94, '95)
--Grand Slam Latin Champion ('95)

Maksim Chmerkovskiy
CELEBRITY PARTNER: Debi Mazar
BACKGROUND: "The Bad Boy of the Ballroom" joined the show in Season 2, competing with partner Tia Carrere. We fell for Maks instantly. Known for his bold moves and even bolder mouth, he's the one we love to hate and hate to love. Maks has come close to getting that shiny disco ball twice. He made it to the finals with boxing champ Laila Ali in Season 4, and finished in second place in Season 5 with Mel B. So close! Ladies love to look at Maks. "I know my assets so I don't have a problem opening my shirt," the dancer says. "I notice women looking at my chest all the time. If you want to look at my chest, go ahead." Don't mind if we do! And DWTS dancer Karina Smirnoff is a lucky girl—they're engaged. Maks is a big part of the DWTS family. He toured in the national production and is part of the DWTS: Cardio Dance DVD. He recently starred on ABC's sports competition show The Superstars and played himself in an episode of All My Children. Outside of DWTS, Maks choreographed for famed director Franco Dragone's Le Reve, and performed in the Broadway show Burn the Floor. Currently a board member for the non-profit organization DanceTeamUSA, Maks is dedicated to inspiring American kids to get involved in DanceSport. He started the Rising Stars Dance Academy, which is the premier youth ballroom dance school in the United States. He also organizes performances all over the world through his company Maksim Chmerkovskiy Productions.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
--2005 Yankee Classic Professional Latin Champion
--2004 Manhattan Dancesport Professional Latin Champion
--2003 Ohio Star Ball Latin Champion
--Ranked 2nd in the US

Mark Ballas
CELEBRITY PARTNER: Melissa Joan Hart
BACKGROUND: Coming from a family of international dance stars, it's no surprise that Mark has two shiny disco ball trophies at home. He even beat out his dad, Corky, and childhood friends, Julianne and Derek Hough, for the wins. Mark joined the show in Season 5. Despite their stellar performances, he and partner Sabrina Bryan were eliminated in week six. It was so controversial that various websites voted it 2007's Most Shocking TV Moment. Despite the Season 5 upset, Mark came back to win the DWTS title in Season 6 with partner Kristi Yamaguchi, and again in Season 8 with Shawn Johnson. Born in Houston, Texas, Mark moved to London with his family as a child and joined the Italia Conti Academy of Dramatic Arts Associate School where his training in acting and singing/dancing began. He grew up with fellow DWTS pros Derek and Julianne Hough, who lived and trained with his parents. He says they are more like family than friends. "We get along like brother...we fight like brothers." Mark and Julianne partnered to win Junior Latin American and Junior Olympics dance championships. As an actor, Mark has played the lead in the musical Copacabana. He also took on roles in the UK tour of Maria de Buenos Aires, and was an understudy in the London Palladium production of The Buddy Holly Musical. Plus, maybe you caught his guest star appearance on the 2008 season premiere of Samantha Who? When he's not dancing, Mark rocks out with Derek in their band Ballas Hough Band. Their fist studio album, BHB, was released in March 2009.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
--British Juvenile Ballroom and Latin American dance champ
--US Open to the World, British Open to the World and International Open to the World Junior Latin American Champ
--Junior Olympics Gold Medal Winner
--British Open to the World, US Open to the World, International Open to the World twice, United Kingdom, Youth Latin American Dance Champion

Tony Dovolani
CELEBRITY PARTNER: Kathy Ireland
BACKGROUND: Be still our beating, ballroom-dancing hearts—Tony's back for Season 9 of DWTS, and you can bet he's gonna bring a little extra fire to the floor this fall. Born in Kosovo, professional ballroom dancer, instructor and judge Driton "Tony" Dovolani began folk dancing at age three. When he was 15, his entire family moved to the United States and Tony got the opportunity to attend the New England-based Fred Astaire Dance Academy. From that moment on, he knew he had found his passion. Since that time, Tony has traveled the world and won several championships. Tony also had a featured role in the hit film Shall We Dance, and spent time coaching Jennifer Lopez. Dovolani made his Dancing with the Stars debut in Season 2, when he was paired up with professional wrestler Stacy Keibler. Most recently, Tony was partnered with Melissa Rycroft in Season 8, where they came in third place. How far will his fancy footwork take him this time?
ACHIEVEMENTS:
--2005 and 2006 World Rhythm Champion
--2006 PBS American Ballroom Challenge Rhythm Champion
--2006 Emerald Ball Open Professional American Rhythm Champion
--2005 Ohio Star Ball American Rhythm Champion
--Current world and undefeated United States Open champion

Just four weeks from today! It's probably too early for me to start warming up the TV, huh? Sigh.