bollywood breaking news: 'Dancing With the Stars' reveals all-star pairings

Monday, August 13, 2012

'Dancing With the Stars' reveals all-star pairings

Getty Images (2), AP

Bristol Palin, Shawn Johnson, Joey Fatone and the rest of the "Dancing" all-star cast now know their pro partners -- and ballroom fans do too.

By Ree Hines, TODAY contributor

The new, all-star season of "Dancing With the Stars" is still six weeks away, but fans of the ballroom bash now have a better idea of what to expect when those oh-so familiar hopefuls hit the dance floor. On Monday morning, "Dancing"' followed up the recent star-studded cast announcement by unveiling which professional hoofers will serve as the celebrities' all-important partners.

Here's the list of pairings:

Reality star Bristol Palin will once again dance her season 11 partner Mark Ballas.
Olympic gymnast and past "Dancing" winner Shawn Johnson, who moved with Ballas in season eight, will dance with Derek Hough.
For actress Kirstie Alley, all-stars will offer a second chance with her season-12 partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy.
Retired NFL running back Emmitt Smith, who danced with Cheryl Burke in season three, will dance with her again.
Actor Gilles Marini danced with Burke in season eight, and now he'll try for the mirror-ball trophy with Peta Murgatroyd.
When actor and singer Drew Lachey danced, and won, in season two, he also did so with pro Burke. This time he'll move alongside Anna Trebunskaya.
The first time actress Pamela Anderson participated in the competition, back in season 10, she danced with pro Damian Whitewood. This time she'll dance with Tristan MacManus.
Olympic speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno won with past pro Julianne Hough in season four, but he'll perform with Karina Smirnoff in all-stars.
Indy 500 champ Helio Castroneves took top honors with Hough in season five. He'll try for a repeat with Chelsie Hightower.
Actor and 'N Sync member Joey Fatone will dance with his season-four partner Kym Johnson.
Actress Kelly Monaco won with pro Alec Mazo is "Dancing's" first season. She'll dance with Val Chmerkokvskiy for all-stars.
In season eight, Melissa Rycroft danced with pro Tony Dovolani. She'll do the same for all-stars.

But of course, that's not all. When the 12-member celebrity cast for the upcoming season was first announced, ballroom fans were asked to vote for their favorite past player to fill spot No. 13. That battle between Carson Kressley, Kyle Massey and Sabrina Bryan continues. Votes will be collected online until Aug. 24, which means there's still one more matchup that remains a mystery.

The all-star season of "Dancing With the Stars" premieres Sept. 24 at 8 p.m. ET.