Monday, August 17, 2009
ABC Television Network
ABC ANNOUNCES "DANCING WITH THE STARS" SEASON NINE CAST
The stage is set for 16 new stars to showcase their fancy footwork as "Dancing with the Stars" returns for its ninth season, Monday, September 21 on ABC.
Three-Night Premiere Event Begins Monday, September 21
Two Celebrities Eliminated on Wednesday, September 23
An all new cast of celebrities hits the dance floor on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" with the highly anticipated two-hour season premiere, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET) on ABC. With its biggest season yet, "Dancing with the Stars" Season Nine introduces us to 16 new stars, including an Osmond and an Osbourne, two Grammy Award® winning artists, a Cowboy, a model CEO and a former House Majority Leader.
Eight teams will strut their stuff on Monday night, while the other eight teams will show off their moves on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET). On a special night and time, two couples will learn their fate and be sent home on WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET).
Following is the schedule for Season Nine (dates and times subject to change):
"Dancing with the Stars," two-hour performance show, MONDAYS beginning, SEPTEMBER 21 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET) through NOVEMBER 16
"Dancing with the Stars the Results Show," one-hour, TUESDAYS beginning, SEPTEMBER 29 (9:00 -10:00 p.m., ET) through NOVEMBER 25
"Dancing with the Stars," 90-minute performance show, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24 (8:30-10:00 p.m., ET)
Season Finale, two-hours, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 25 (9:00-11:00 p.m., ET)
"Dancing with the Stars" returns with new surprises and all the elements viewers have come to know and love, including the Pro Dancer Competition, where world class professional dancers have the opportunity to compete live on the "Results Show" for a guaranteed spot on next season's show. "Macy's Stars of Dance," which features some of the most renowned dancers and choreographers of our time, will also be back on "Dancing with the Stars the Results Show." One of the Macy's Stars of Dance performances will be the hugely popular "Design-a-Dance," where fans have the chance to select their favorite professional dancers, dance styles and wardrobe at www.abc.com. In addition, couples will once again take part in a team formation dance, and a variety of new elements will be incorporated into routines involving all couples. Four new dance styles -- the Bolero, the Charleston, the Two Step and the Lambada -- are also going to be introduced. The middle stages of the competition feature the return of the "Dance Off," where contestants will perform a dance style of their choosing to fight for their spot in the competition, and three consecutive double eliminations promise the most dramatic period of "Dancing with the Stars."
As announced this morning on "Good Morning America," the 16 stars making their ballroom dancing debut are:
AARON CARTER -- Triple platinum selling music artist/songwriter, producer, actor and younger brother of Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter, Aaron Carter has established himself worldwide as a pop and teen sensation.
NATALIE COUGHLIN -- Olympic swimming gold medalist Natalie Coughlin is the most decorated female athlete of both the 2008 Beijing and 2004 Athens Games and has won a medal in every single Olympic event that she has ever entered, for a total of 11 Olympic medals.
MARK DACASCOS -- Famously known as "The Chairman" and host of Food Network's "Iron Chef America," Mark Dacascos is also a trained martial artist and an actor.
TOM DELAY -- The former House Majority Leader is a prominent Republican and conservative firebrand who was first elected to Congress in 1984.
MACY GRAY -- Macy Gray first burst onto the music scene with her debut album, "On How Life Is," and the hit single "I Try," both of which went to number one and has gone on to sell more than 20,000,000 albums worldwide and has won and been nominated for five Grammy Awards and six MTV Video Music Awards.
ASHLEY HAMILTON -- Actor, songwriter, comedian and son of former "Dancing with the Stars" contestant George Hamilton, Ashley is a multi-talented, multi-hyphenate with experience in film, comedy and television.
MELISSA JOAN HART -- Known for her starring roles in the television series "Clarissa Explains It All" and "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," Melissa Joan Hart began her career at the early age of four with television commercials and various television appearances.
KATHY IRELAND -- Kathy Ireland the super model is now wife, mother of three, author, Sunday school teacher and fashion CEO of kathy ireland Worldwide® (KIWW)®.
MICHAEL IRVIN -- Regarded as one of the most successful wide receivers in the history of the NFL, former Dallas Cowboy Michael Irvin is a three-time Super Bowl champion and former broadcaster for ESPN's "NFL Countdown."
JOANNA KRUPA -- Polish-born Joanna Krupa was born in Warsaw and raised in Chicago. After high school she moved to LA to pursue a career in modeling and acting.
CHUCK LIDDELL -- Chuck Liddell is the face of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the icon of Mixed Martial Arts -- the fastest growing sport in America.
DEBI MAZAR -- Debi Mazar's feature film debut in Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas" set the stage for an extensive career in both television and film.
MYA -- Grammy Award® winning multi-platinum artist Mya, became a star at the age of 18 with her eponymous debut album which yielded three Top 10 singles.
KELLY OSBOURNE -- A singer, actress and media personality, Kelly Osbourne's father is rock icon Ozzy Osbourne, and her mother is well-known TV personality Sharon Osbourne.
DONNY OSMOND -- Donny Osmond won the hearts of millions as both a member of the Osmonds and, with his sister (and "Dancing with the Stars" alumna) Marie, as the youngest co-hosts in primetime history on the iconic ABC variety series, "The Donny & Marie Show." He and Marie are currently performing at the Las Vegas Flamingo Hotel through 2012. For nearly five decades, Donny has been a singer, musician, Broadway and film actor, talk show and game show host, bestselling author, and even a champion race car driver.
LOUIE VITO -- Professional snowboarder Louie Vito is among the U.S.' elite snowboarders favored to make the 2010 Olympic team.
Viewers may cast their votes for their favorite teams via phone on Monday and Tuesday night during and up to 30 minutes after the "Dancing with the Stars" performance shows. AT&T subscribers may also text message their votes by texting the word "VOTE" and entering the number that corresponds to the team they want to support (standard text message rates apply). Viewers may also vote online at www.abc.com starting from the opening of each episode on the East Coast and until 12:00 Noon, ET the following day.
Hosted by Tom Bergeron ("America's Funniest Home Videos") and Samantha Harris ("The Insider") the celebrities will perform choreographed dance routines which will be judged by renowned Ballroom judge Len Goodman and dancer/choreographers Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba.
"Dancing with the Stars" is the U.S. version of the international smash hit series, "Strictly Come Dancing." This version is produced by BBC Worldwide Productions. Conrad Green serves as executive producer and Rob Wade is co-executive producer. Alex Rudzinski directs. "Dancing with the Stars" is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format, with 5.1 channel surround sound and Spanish audio via SAP.
"Dancing with the Stars the Results Show" Premieres in Regular Timeslot on Tuesday, September 29