I've just read on another site that theChristmas Special of Strictly Come Dancing (UK version) will include some of the American contestants. So far they only mention Rachel Hunter and Evander Holyfield.

Don't know if any of the professionals are coming over though, as Rachel is apparently being paired with Brendan (Bad Boy) Cole.

Anyone heard anything about this over in the US?

They may be hot, but neither one of them has done any ballroom style dancing in years, if ever. (At least Charlotte had trained and danced latin as a kid.) I pity the celeb who has to do quickstep with Cherly or Jose, if they both are appearing, though I think the ladies will love Jose's latin hips.

Okay ziglettospal, since you seem to be out there on the west coast, spill the beans about Charlotte. Is it possible she is not returning? I know some ballroom people who say they are booking lessons with her in January far away from California.

Cheryl briefly did some Standard as a kid (in fact, danced a Pro/Am Standard competition with fellow DwtS pro Jonathan Roberts as her teacher), but other than that, it's been Latin all the way. That could definitely pose a challenge for her and her Star student. Although, the Latin versus Standard thing didn't really seem to hurt the various Latin-oriented Pros from last time around.

I was happy seeing the promo for the show coming back in January but then I realized that I miss the old show. The new lineup of "stars" don't excite me much.
I hope that TPTB will have a couple of more exciting people than the ones we've been hearing about. ABC made a mistake having that dance-off. I think they really turned off some potential contestants.

We have pros! TEN of them, not the six we had last time or the eight they originally said they were going to have this time. That's cool, because it means ABC wants the show to have a longer run. I can't wait to see who all the stars are going to be -- and heck, with the two extra slots then maybe there is a chance that Tara Reid will be on :-) :-)

Louis van Amstel -- I'm actually a little suprised that he's back, because of the Trista thing, but perhaps the powers that be realized it was mostly about Trista-hate so they decided to ask him back.

Edyta Sliwinska -- At first I heard she wasn't asked back, but here she is. Well, good for her. Everyone loved her abs last season so we'll all get to gaze upon their incredibleness again.

Jonathan Roberts -- Of course he's back. I think that "on paper" he's the best teacher of the bunch in that he's done the show before, he's got lots of experience teaching adults to dance, and that he's got high-level professional competitive experience in Smooth (American-style Ballroom) and the Latin dances.

Ashly DelGrosso -- She was so cute last time, how could they not have her back again?

Max Chmerkovskiy -- I predict he will be the "Mr. Suxy" of this series. Spectacular Latin-style dancer, very very handsome.

Andrea Hale -- Picture a blonde version of Ashly DelGrosso. "Girl-next-door" pretty, very skilled at both Standard and Latin. A few years ago she and her ex-partner were in the semi-finals of the World 10-Dance Championships, which is scored over both the Standard and Latin dancers.

Nick Kosovich -- We saw him in the "dance off." Elegant. Handsome. Smooth. (Happy sigh.)

Anna Trebunskaya -- Jonathan's wife and pro dance partner, skilled coach in both Standard and Latin. Beautiful and strong. Jerry Rice got her for his pro, and I think he's fortunate for it because of her reputation as a teacher and a competitor.

Tony Dovolani -- Very versatile dancer who has competed professionally in a few different styles, and who is *very* successful on the Pro/Am circuit. Like Jonathan, he has a lot of experience in teaching adults how to dance and how to win competitions. The star who gets him will be quite fortunate.

Cheryl Burke -- She might be the youngest pro of the bunch. Great Latin dancer, but doesn't have a lot of experience with Standard or with teaching adults. Still, she's exotically beautiful -- she'll be a second "panther" to Edyta.

As for the judges, from looking at the ABC web site (where there are some bios of the new pros but not a lot of pictures yet), it looks like we'll have the same three as last time. (I thought they did an okay job, except for that bit with Len about the foxtrot that Ashly choreographed for Joey.)

(Edited to flesh out comments on the various dancers, and a note about judges.)

Excellent, zigolettospal! Now all we need are three or four ballroom professionals to act as judges and a decent host and hostess, and we're good to go!

Thanks for the info, zigolettospal! Interesting that the two pros who "won" last season won't be back for the new series. Is that usually the case on the other Dancing With the Stars? I'm really excited to see Anna on the show. She was so great in the bits we saw her do last season. I just hope that Jerry Rice isn't as lead-footed as Evander Holyfield.

I'm off to search for pictures of the new pros!

Thanks Zig.
So , we know the teachers but still don't know all the stars?
Not a chance. Jerry takes things very serious. His football practice dedication and conditioning are legendary. He's in it to win.

I once saw a special on how Jerry Rice trained for football and it tired me out just watching it.

Here is an article outlining his "hill workout".

From the article...



He's a bit more fleet-footed than Evander and has the advantage of not having been punched in the head a few thousand times. I think he'll do a good job, but I'm sure the sports radio "macho men" are going to have a field day with this.

No Alec? I'm going off to pout in the corner. However, I'm glad that the Suxy is preserved for all time and I don't have to see him dance with Lisa Rinna.

Ditto, barkley.

I'm just consoling myself by taking pleasure in the fact that the Suxy is shown in the most in the commercial clips (besides the pros). :(

Some scheduling news from The Futon Critic:

I believe that Drew Lachey will be paired with Cheryl Burke for the show. No other word yet on who the remaining stars are. They are out there training already -- Andrea Hale has started with her star, but I did not hear who he is. Similarly for Edyta Sliwinska.

So, so far we've got:

Jerry Rice with Anya Trebunskaya
Drew Lachey with Cheryl Burke

(Edited to add note about Edyta.)

Ditto to the ditto. There is only one and only Suxy and am glad Rinna isn't going to taint the suxyness with her ginormous lips. She needs to make her own suxy with her own partner.

I hope some of these people (stars/pros) are worth rooting for like the originals. Honestly, (excluding Trista) all the original stars were quite likeable and charismatic and not at all famewhorish. But who am I kidding...

Are they ever going to tell us who the stars are?

Boohoohoo about no Alec (sigh!). I guess it would be unfair to bring back the pros who got the highest numbers of votes, as probably a fair number of voters (and I'll be honest, myself included), would probably vote for Alec and Charlotte b/c they know them and like them from the first installment. And I'm sure ABC does not want another "built-in fanbase" debacle. I hope Alec and Kelly will come back to do some sort of exhibition performance at some point during Season 2, and maybe Edyta and Alec will do some demonstrations as well.

Seems to me like the producers have decided that the latin pro style is where it's at.

There are a few 10-dancers (latin and ballroom) in this group, but a whole bunch of latin-only dancers too.

It's notable the way they ignore the great standard and american smooth dancers in the US these days in favor of latin boys like Max and Louis or latin girls like Edyta and Cherly.

And boy are they going for the jiggle factor.

I would have thought they would have tried to replace Charlotte with at least one other elegant ballroom lady instead of all this hot young stuff. My choice would have been the beautiful and talented (and only recentlyl retired from competing) Toni Redpath....

Toni and Michael

I was watching Monday Night Football last night, and I saw a promo for the show. I wasn't paying that close attention, but I think they hinted that a "wrestler" would be on the show, and I think I caught a quick glimpse of a guy named Shawn Michaels, whose nickname is the "Heartbreak Kid". Has anyone heard of this, and did anyone see last nite's promo? Also, I'm looking forward to the 'Skating w/ the Stars', that could be a hoot.

el mapache, I thought the same thing, but all the clips they showed were, I think, from the last season and one of the pros would look sort of like HBK in quick shots - same coloring, hair pulled back in a ponytail. I'm most curious to see who the professional wrestler is because I can't imagine someone who's currently active having time to do something like this. I know it's a longshot, but I'm crossing my fingers for Jericho who is NOT currently wrestling. I don't know if he can dance, but he would definitely be entertaining. And pretty.

I suppose Michaels could still be an active pro wrestler and do DwtS if his wrestling schedule was reduced to Mondays and the occasional Sunday pay-per-view show. The major problem though with trying to balance both is that pro wrestling often results in very real injuries as Michaels himself knows all too well. ABC may not want to take the chance of a contestant dropping out of DwtS due to such an outside circumstance.

Chris Jericho would be a hoot. I agree that Shawn's schedule would be too tight unless WWE agrees to write him out of their storylines for the run of DWtS. I didn't see the promo, so I can't hazard a guess who it is. Personally, I'd like to see Mick Foley, Ric Flair (Woooo!) Mark Carraway (The Undertaker) or Paul Wight (The Giant) give it a shot.

My little brother just emailed me and said that some internet wrestling news reporter (I don't know him, but little bro seemed to think he was pretty reliable) is reporting that it is indeed Shawn Michaels who's participating. Very cool if true. After Jericho, he'd be my next pick.

Yep, that man with the ponytail in the clips is pro dancer Louis Van Amstel. He is the one who danced with 'star' Trista Sutter last time around.

That's interesting to hear about Shawn Michaels. I love the idea of them getting a football great AND also a wrestler. And if Shawn's hair is as great as Louis', then we're in for a treat. :-)

I just posted a topic in the Tubey's Kids: Recaps For Charity thread in hopes of getting (at least) the season premiere of DWtS2 recapped. Check it out if you're interested in getting a well-deserved recap for this great (and snarkworthy) show.

It's not Shawn Michaels.

Dave Meltzer (the most reliable pro wrestling news writer out there) posted word on WrestlingObserver.com that the "pro wrestler" in question is WWE female star Stacy Keibler.

The term "pro wrestler" is being stretched to its loosest definition in this case. Keibler's more known for her looks (her legs, in particular) than for any actual pro wrestling skills. She is a former Baltimore Ravens cheerleader with some dance training.

http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/...8995|1|,00.html

Its : Lisa Rinna, Tia Carrere, Tatum O'neal Stacy Keibler and Giselle Fernandez
Kenny Mayne, George Hamilton, Romeo, Jerry Rice and Drew Lachey.

The pairings were also officially announced, "stars" are listed on the left in this summarized version.

Tia Carrere & Maksim Chmerkovskiy.
Giselle Fernandez & Jonathan Roberts.
George Hamilton & Edyta Sliwinska.
Stacy Keibler & Tony Dovolani.
Drew Lachey & Cheryl Burke.
Kenny Mayne & Andrea Hale.
Tatum O'Neal & Nick Kosovich.
Jerry Rice & Anna Trebunskaya.
Lisa Rinna & Louis van Amstel.
Romeo & Ashly Delgrosso.

The full ABC press release (including a misspelling of Keibler's last name) is on The Futon Critic.

I have a theory that the hottest couple will win, so based on that I'm picking Tia & Max. For now, since we haven't actually seen any of them yet.

Edit: Okay, so taking twotrey's evaluation of Tia's not-hotness into account, then I'm guessing it will be Drew & Cheryl. She's got the hot going on...but the thing is, Drew is more "cute" than hot and is only 5'6", so maybe not. Who do we think is the hottest couple "on paper" at this point?

And how is George Hamilton even still alive? I wonder if he's some kind of vitality vampire...we'll have to watch Edyta closely to see if she seems to suddenly age quickly from week to week :-)

Tia is so not hot. Stacy and Giselle are far more attractive than that skank. (Though I'd take her over the even skankier Lisa Rinna)

Futon Critic says Tom Bergeron will host... with no mention of Lisa Canning. Maybe Canning got canned?

This is season's line-up is pretty bad. I consider myself pretty on top of useless celebrity info (though I did recently grow up and let my Us Weekly subscription lapse), but Giselle Fernandez? Stacy Keibler? Kenny Mayne?

I haven't seen Tia Carrere recently, but I have a feeling that if she's doing this show, she's going to be back in fighting weight and looking good. George Hamilton was born in 1939, so he's considerably older than O'Hurley, but last time I saw him, he was carrying less ballast. Lisa Rinna and Louis are going to be one nasty, too-tan couple.

I wonder if the Jerry Rice news is correct -- on his webpage, he's starring in a reality show in Spike called "Pros v. Joes" (http://www.jr80.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=201). It begins airing in April, so there would probably be some overlap in the filming of the two shows. Guess he'll be pulling a Kelly and doing double-duty?

It looks like ABC is really trying to pull in a male/sports-fan audience -- pro wrestler, ESPN announcer, and football player.

I'm actually kind of jazzed about the celebrities this go-round. It's a nice, eclectic group of people. There should be something for everyone. And the male viewers should certainly be happy since Tia, Giselle, and Stacy are all pretty smokin'. I'm pleased that Edyta got George HamilTAN because I suspect he'll be fairly smooth and graceful as opposed to lead-footed Evander (love ya, baby, but stick to boxing.)

It looks to me like the couples with the most potential are: Tia/Maksim, Giselle/Jonathan, George/Edyta, and Stacy/Tony. Although I wouldn't be surprised if Nick was able to pull some great performances out of Tatum.

I am just ridiculously excited for this show to start back up. I hope that S2 is as much fun as S1 (before all of the finale controversy.)

You have got to be kidding me. ROMEO is going to be on Dancing With the Stars? Why? Just...why?

Lisa Rinna hopefully will be the first to go. Too full of herself and is completely plastic. Nothing real about her. Perfectly paired w/ Louis - yuck!
Interesting cast. Looking forward to see Tatum O'Neal & Jerry Rice the most.

Watermelon, when I saw the list above, I thought "A husband and wife? But who is Romeo Delgrosso?"
And then it hit me.... Lil' Romeo?

Well, it should be funny, if nothing else. But I'm not sure I watch watch a show with both Lisa Rinna & George Hamilton. They are two of the most frightening plasticy creatures on TV.

She was on a celebrity version of Ballbreakers on GSN and she looked fine to me.

As for the couples...eh. It's a bit sad that I recognize more of the dancers than the actually participants. (And no Alec? Where are going to get the suxy now?) I guess I'll stay in boyband mode and stick with Drew. As seen on Newlyweds, he can bring the snark.

I like Drew from what I've seen on Newlyweds. Has that some sort of middle-class, level-headed thing that Nick had. And you have to like a guy who helps his brother with all of the obnoxious tasks he's too frugal to pay someone to do for him (i.e., move furniture, sod the lawn). I'm not very familiar with 98 Degrees, so I don't know if they're a big "dancing" boyband ala N Sync, but he should be fun to watch.

I am beside myself with joy. I want to send flowers to the casting people.

George Hamilton?! Fucking PERFECT. Nothing says cheese more than George Hamilton. Wow.

Tatum O'Neal! God, I hope her partner is an obsessive perfectionist a la her ex John, that would be awesome to watch.

Jerry Rice! Dude can move, it'll be interesting to see if mad speed and balance skillz help him with the ballroom moves.

Tia Carrere wears funky gowns well. I remember her looking pretty good dancing with Ahnuld in True Lies.

Cannot WAIT for this. It's going to be great.

98 Degrees danced a bit, but nothing as "complex" as Backstreet Boys/N Sync stuff. However I believe his wife Leah was a dancer so Drew may do better than I expect.

Excited about the return of the show, just wish Alec was in it again. Hope he and Kelly makes an appearance or he returns as a guest Judge or something.

Drew Lachey? My future brother-in-law? YES!!! I will definitely watch, just for him.

I never saw an episode of this show but I have interest in the second season as I'm a wrestling fan that will be rooting for Stacy Keibler.

Interview with Stacy

Thanks for the link to the interview. Not to open up a can of worms, but the best part?

I wonder if more media articles are going to claim JOH or KM as "last season's winner."

No kidding! I feel gypped. I want to trade Stacy for Jericho!

The pro half of the suxy! won't be part of the show? Aw. But without his celeb half, it just wouldn't have had been the same, anyway. Here's hoping they'll have Kelly and Alec do some sort of exhibition dance (if only so I can see the suxy! again).

And no Charlotte Jorgensen, too? Boo.

But great job with the casting. ABC managed to come up with an even lesser number of "stars" that I'm familiar with, regardless of the fact that there are 10 of them now. I recognized 4 of the 6 "stars" last time (And I think I cursed them. None got to the finals. Heh). And became a fan (of one previously unknown to me) celeb, quite possibly due to the undeniable pull of the suxy!. I know 3 of the 10 "stars" this time around (Oh, those 3 are so doomed!) So, it'll be interesting to see which celeb manages to make me root for them.

Wait until you see Stacy's 42-inch legs! Her legs are almost as long as Jericho is tall.

George Hamilton should be a hoot. I love him!

I like the mix of celebs, although I am still pouting that Alec won't be on my television every week.

Ahh, I would rather see Drew with Ashley. (or Former Olympian )

Oh my, I'm sooo looking forward to Jan 5! Casting did a splendid job. I'm kind of disappointed that Robert Wagner isn't going to be in it. And I hope these new stars aren't too experienced in dance - part of the fun is seeing the progression from bad dancer to good (or best) dancer.

I will kind of miss Lisa Canning - will she be the Dunkleman of this show?

My pre-show pick for finalist are Tatum and Romeo.

PS. George Hamilton and Edyta equals tantastic!

When I read that Lisa Rinna would be on this my mind flashed to the 3 billion collagen jokes in the Veronica Mars recaps and thread. (ex her character apparently jumped off a bridge and people wondered how long 20 pounds of collagen lips would take to be swept out to sea. That and George Hamilton bodes well for snarking. I'm going out on a limb and guess she's gracefull.

I'm saddened that Charlotte won't be on it. I hope she is doing well financially. I just read that Jonathan is going to be in the broadway production of Chicago. I may even go see it.
ETA
I'm not clear on what Stacy does. I read the article linked and they refer to her as a wrestling "diva "at WWF or whatever but does she acutually wrestle or is she some sort of eye candy in between matches of male wrestlers or what? Initially I thought she was a wrestler but the article made me think she holds up cards or introduces people or something like that. Can somebody who knows who the hell she is clarify? Thanks

A "diva" is someone who knows basic wrestling moves and usually uses them in say, instead of a regular wrestling match, a bra and panties match or a pillow fight. There are some, maybe 4 or 5, who actually wrestle, but Stacy isn't one of them(at least not since I saw her last).

She's improved to the point where if you put her in the ring with a talented female wrestler she can put on a believably good match (her last one was in October with Jillian Hall), but she's not a likely candidate to ever be the Women's Champion.