'Dancing With the Stars' Season 21: Who are the pro dancers?
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Molly Driscoll Staff writer
TV network ABC has announced some of the pro dancers who will be participating in the upcoming season of “Dancing With the Stars.”
Derek Hough, Mark Ballas, Valentin Chmerkovskiy, Artem Chigvintsev, Allison Holker, Peta Murgatroyd, Sharna Burgess, and Witney Carson will reportedly all be participating in the fall season. Also appearing on the show for the upcoming season will be dancer Karina Smirnoff, who did not participate in the program this past spring. More professional participants may be announced later on.
The celebrities who will participate in the upcoming season will be announced on Sept. 2 and the new season will debut on Sept. 14.
“Stars” has professionals team up with celebrities to perform various dance styles. The show debuted on ABC in 2005 in the U.S. and usually airs a fall and a spring season. DWTS is one of ABC-TV's top rated shows, with an average of 13. 1 million viewers this past spring. Last season saw actress Rumer Willis win the competition with professional dancer Chmerkovskiy as her partner.
Appearing on “Dancing” as professional dancers has given many of the show’s participants a boost in public profile. Such pros as Chmerkovskiy, Smirnoff, and Derek Hough have become household names and Julianne Hough, Derek’s sister, in particular has benefited from her exposure on the show. Julianne Hough participated in the show as a professional dancer beginning in 2007 (she’s won it twice) and has since appeared in such films as the 2010 movie “Burlesque,” the 2011 remake of “Footloose,” and the 2013 movie “Safe Haven." She's also set to appear in the lead role of Sandy in the upcoming Fox live production of the musical “Grease," which will air this January.
Hough herself said of fans in a People magazine interview, “They have followed me from Dancing with the Stars to my other aspirations.”
Hough now serves as a judge on “Dancing” along with Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, and Bruno Tonioli. The upcoming season of “Dancing” will be the show’s 21st.
