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'Dancing with the Stars' Kicks Off Star-Studded 9th Season

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Douglas Boultinghouse
Arts & Entertainment Editor

 

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Courtesy of ABC
Practice Makes Perfect - Actress Melissa Joan Hart (right) dances with professonal dancer Mark Ballas. The pair will dance on the ninth season of ABC's hit "Dancing with the Stars."

   Who knew when “Dancing with the Stars” premiered in 2005, it would explode into a pop culture phenomenon and still be on the air nine seasons later?

   According to HitFix, the show brings in continuously high ratings for ABC.

   The show pairs celebrities with professional dancers, who compete each week for votes in a system similar to “American Idol,” where viewers dial a number to vote for their favorite couple.

   The couples perform various dances such as the Foxtrot, Quickstep, Rumba, Tango, Waltz, Jive, Paso Doble and more.

   Previous celebrity winners include actress Kelly Monaco, singer Drew Lachey, athlete Emmitt Smith, Olympic speed skater Apolo Ohno, auto racer Helio Castroneves, Olympic figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, actress Brooke Burke and Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson.

   ABC lists 16 couples to compete for the trophy in the ninth season:

  • Singer Aaron Carter with Karina Smirnoff
  • Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin with Alec Mazo
  • "Iron Chef America" host Mark Dacascos with Lacey Schwimmer
  • Politician Tom DeLay with Cheryl Burke
  • Singer Macy Gray with Jonathan Roberts
  • Actor and comedian Ashley Hamilton with Edyta Śliwińska
  • Actress Melissa Joan Hart with Mark Ballas
  • Supermodel and fashion designer Kathy Ireland with Tony Dovolani
  • Pro Football Hall of Fame member Michael Irvin with Anna Demidova
  • Supermodel Joanna Krupa with Derek Hough
  • Ultimate Fighting Champion Chuck Liddell with Anna Trebunskaya
  • Actress Debi Mazar with Maksim Chmerkovskiy
  • Singer and actress Mýa Dmitry Chaplin
  • Singer Kelly Osbourne with Louis van Amstel 
  • Entertainer Donny Osmond with Kym Johnson
  • World Champion Snowboarder Louie Vito with Chelsie Hightower 

   Several of the celebrities and professional dancers have put their Twitter accounts to work, giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at rehearsals as they prepare to dance on live television.

   The three-night premiere kicked off Monday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. on ABC.

                                                                                                                                                                                                        

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