Series Description

Dancing With the Stars is a 60 minute competitive reality series series on ABC where celebrity contestants team up with professional dance partners to perform dances of all types from the Cha Cha to waltzes, tango, sambas, disco, the foxtrot and the usual favorite, freestyle. The couples' performances are scored by a panel of three judges and are voted on by fans throughout North America. The couple with the lowest combined score goes home. Professional celebrity singers and dancers also perform on the show.

Dancing With the Stars Cast

Hosts:

Tom Bergeron .... (2005-)
Brooke Burke .... Co-host (2008-)
Samantha Harris .... Co-host (2006-2009)
Lisa Canning .... Co-host (2005)
Drew Lachey .... Co-host (2007)


Judges:

Bruno Tonioli .... (2005-)
Carrie Ann Inaba .... (2005-)
Len Goodman .... (2005-)


Professional Dancers:

Cheryl Burke .... (2006-)
Driton "Tony" Dovolani .... (2006-)
Maksim Chmerkovskiy .... (2006-)
Derek Hough .... (2007-)
Edyta Sliwinska .... (2005-2010)
Kym Johnson .... (2006-)
Karina Smirnoff .... (2006-)
Mark Ballas .... (2007-)
Louis van Amstel .... (2005-2011)
Anna Trebunskaya .... (2006-)
Julianne Hough .... (2007-2009)
Lacey Schwimmer .... (2008-)
Jonathan Roberts .... (2005-2009)
Alec Mazo .... (2005-2009)
Chelsie Hightower .... (2009-)
Dmitry Chaplin .... (2009,2011)
Ashly DelGrosso .... (2005-2006,2010)
Anna Demidova .... (2009)
Damian Whitewood .... (2010)


Others:

Harold Wheeler .... Musical Director (2005-)
Alan Dedicoat .... Announcer (2005-2007)


Competitors and Their Dance Partners:


Season 1 / Summer 2005:

Kelly Monaco / Alec Mazo .... Winners
John O'Hurley / Charlotte Jorgensen .... 2nd Place
Joey McIntyre / Ashly DelGrosso .... 3rd Place
Rachel Hunter / Jonathan Roberts .... 4th Place
Evander Holyfield / Edyta Sliwinska .... 5th Place
Trista Rehn Sutter / Louis van Amstel .... 6th Place


Season 2 / Early 2006:

Drew Lachey / Cheryl Burke .... Winners
Jerry Rice / Anna Trebunskaya .... 2nd Place
Stacy Keibler / Tony Dovolani .... 3rd Place
Lisa Rinna / Louis van Amstel .... 4th Place
George Hamilton / Edyta Sliwinska .... 5th Place
Tia Carrere / Maksim Chmerkovskiy .... 6th Place
Master P / Ashly DelGrosso .... 7th Place
Giselle Fernandez / Jonathan Roberts .... 8th Place
Tatum O'Neal / Nick Kosovich .... 9th Place
Kenny Mayne / Andrea Hale .... 10th Place


Season 3 / Fall 2006:

Emmitt Smith / Cheryl Burke .... Winners
Mario Lopez / Karina Smirnoff .... 2nd Place
Joey Lawrence / Edyta Sliwinska .... 3rd Place
Monique Coleman / Louis Van Amstel .... 4th Place
Jerry Springer / Kym Johnson .... 5th Place
Sara Evans / Tony Dovolani .... 6th Place
Willa Ford / Maksim Chmerkovskiy .... 7th Place
Vivica A. Fox / Nick Kosovich .... 8th Place
Harry Hamlin / Ashly DelGrosso .... 9th Place
Shanna Moakler / Jesse DeSoto .... 10th Place
Tucker Carlson / Elena Grinenko .... 11th Place


Season 4 / Spring 2007:

Apolo Ohno / Julianne Hough .... Winners
Joey Fatone / Kym Johnson .... 2nd Place
Laila Ali / Maksim Chmerkovskiy .... 3rd Place
Ian Ziering / Cheryl Burke .... 4th Place
Billy Ray Cyrus / Karina Smirnoff .... 5th Place
John Ratzenberger / Edyta Sliwinska .... 6th Place
Heather Mills / Jonathan Roberts .... 7th Place
Clyde Drexler / Elena Grinenko .... 8th Place
Leeza Gibbons / Tony Dovolani .... 9th Place
Shandi Finnessey / Brian Fortuna .... 10th Place
Paulina Porizkova / Alec Mazo .... 11th Place


Season 5 / Fall 2007:

Helio Castroneves / Julianne Hough .... Winners
Mel B / Maksim Chmerkovskiy .... 2nd Place
Marie Osmond / Jonathan Roberts .... 3rd Place
Jennie Garth / Derek Hough .... 4th Place
Cameron Mathison / Edyta Sliwinska .... 5th Place
Jane Seymour / Tony Dovolani .... 6th Place
Sabrina Bryan / Mark Ballas Jr. .... 7th Place
Mark Cuban / Kym Johnson .... 8th Place
Floyd Mayweather Jr. / Karina Smirnoff .... 9th Place
Wayne Newton / Cheryl Burke .... 10th Place
Albert Reed / Anna Trebunskaya .... 11th Place
Josie Maran / Alec Mazo .... 12th Place


Season 6 / Spring 2008:

Kristi Yamaguchi / Mark Ballas .... Winners
Jason Taylor / Edyta Sliwinska .... 2nd Place
Cristian de la Fuente / Cheryl Burke .... 3rd Place
Marissa Jaret Winoku / Tony Dovolani .... 4th Place
Mario (R&B Singer) / Karina Smirnoff .... 5th Place
Shannon Elizabeth / Derek Hough .... 6th Place
Marlee Matlin / Fabian Sanchez .... 7th Place
Priscilla Presley / Louis van Amstel .... 8th Place
Adam Carolla / Julianne Hough .... 9th Place
Steve Guttenberg / Anna Trebunskaya .... 10th Place
Penn Jillette / Kym Johnson .... 11th Place (Tie)
Monica Seles / Jonathan Roberts .... 11th Place (Tie)


Season 7 / Fall 2008:

Brooke Burke / Derek Hough .... Winners
Warren Sapp / Kym Johnson .... 2nd Place
Lance Bass / Lacey Schwimmer .... 3rd Place
Cody Linley / Julianne Hough .... 4th Place
Maurice Greene / Cheryl Burke .... 5th Place
Susan Lucci / Tony Dovolani .... 6th Place
Cloris Leachman / Corky Ballas .... 7th Place
Toni Braxton / Alec Mazo .... 8th Place
Misty May-Treanor / Maksim Chmerkovskiy .... 9th Place
Rocco DiSpirito / Karina Smirnoff .... 10th Place
Kim Kardashian / Mark Ballas .... 11th Place
Ted McGinley / Inna Brayer .... 12th Place
Jeffrey Ross / Edyta Sliwinska .... 13th Place


Season 8 / Spring 2009:

Shawn Johnson / Mark Ballas .... Winners
Gilles Marini / Cheryl Burke .... 2nd Place
Melissa Rycroft / Tony Dovolani .... 3rd Place
Ty Murray / Chelsie Hightower .... 4th Place
Lil' Kim / Derek Hough .... 5th Place
Chuck Wicks / Julianne Hough .... 6th Place
Lawrence Taylor / Edyta Sliwinska .... 7th Place
Steve-O / Lacey Schwimmer .... 8th Place
David Alan Grier / Kym Johnson .... 9th Place
Steve Wozniak / Karina Smirnoff .... 10th Place
Holly Madison / Dmitry Chaplin .... 11th Place
Denise Richards / Maksim Chmerkovskiy .... 12th Place
Belinda Carlise / Jonathan Roberts .... 13th Place


Season 9 / Fall 2009:

Donny Osmond / Kym Johnson .... Winners
Mya / Dmitry Chaplin .... 2nd Place
Kelly Osbourne / Louis van Amstel .... 3rd Place
Joanna Krupa / Derek Hough .... 4th Place
Aaron Carter / Karina Smirnoff .... 5th Place
Mark Dacascos / Lacey Schwimmer .... 6th Place
Michael Irvin / Anna Demidova .... 7th Place
Louie Vito / Chelsie Hightower .... 8th Place
Melissa Joan Hart / Mark Ballas .... 9th Place
Natalie Coughlin / Alec Mazo .... 10th Place
Chuck Liddell / Anna Trebunskaya .... 11th Place
Debi Mazar / Maksim Chmerkovskiy .... 12th Place
Tom DeLay / Cheryl Burke .... 13th Place
Kathy Ireland / Tony Dovolani .... 14th Place
Macy Gray / Jonathan Roberts .... 15th Place
Ashley Hamilton / Edyta Sliwinska .... 16th Place


Season 10 / Spring 2010:

Nicole Scherzinger / Derek Hough .... Winners
Evan Lysacek / Anna Trebunskaya .... 2nd Place
Erin Andrews / Maksim Chmerkovskiy .... 3rd Place
Chad Ochocinco / Cheryl Burke .... 4th Place
Niecy Nash / Louis van Amstel .... 5th Place
Pamela Anderson / Damian Whitewood .... 6th Place
Jake Pavelka / Chelsie Hightower .... 7th Place
Kate Gosselin / Tony Dovolani .... 8th Place
Aiden Turner / Edyta Sliwinska .... 9th Place
Buzz Aldrin / Ashly DelGrosso .... 10th Place
Shannen Doherty / Mark Ballas .... 11th Place


Season 11 / Fall 2010:

Jennifer Grey / Derek Hough .... Winners
Kyle Massey / Lacey Schwimmer .... 2nd Place
Bristol Palin / Mark Ballas .... 3rd Place
Brandy Norwood / Maksim Chmerkovskiy .... 4th Place
Kurt Warner / Anna Trebunskaya .... 5th Place
Rick Fox / Cheryl Burke .... 6th Place
Audrina Patridge / Tony Dovolani .... 7th Place
Florence Henderson / Corky Ballas .... 8th Place
Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino / Karina Smirnoff .... 9th Place
Margaret Cho / Louis van Amstel .... 10th Place
Michael Bolton / Chelsie Hightower .... 11th Place
David Hasselhoff / Kym Johnson .... 12th Place


Season 12 / Spring 2011:

Hines Ward / Kym Johnson .... Winners
Kirstie Alley / Maksim Chmerkovskiy .... 2nd Place
Chelsea Kane / Mark Ballas .... 3rd Place
Ralph Macchio / Karina Smirnoff .... 4th Place
Romeo / Chelsie Hightower .... 5th Place
Kendra Wilkinson / Louis Van Amstel .... 6th Place
Chris Jericho / Cheryl Burke .... 7th Place
Petra Nemcova / Dmitry Chaplin .... 8th Place
Sugar Ray Leonard / Anna Trebunskaya .... 9th Place
Wendy Williams / Tony Dovolani .... 10th Place
Mike Catherwood / Lacey Schwimmer .... 11th Place


Season 13 / Fall 2011:

J.R. Martinez / Karina Smirnoff .... Winners
Rob Kardashian / Cheryl Burke .... 2nd Place
Ricki Lake / Derek Hough .... 3rd Place
Hope Solo / Maksim Chmerkovskiy .... 4th Place
Nancy Grace / Tristan MacManus .... 5th Place
David Arquette / Kym Johnson .... 6th Place
Chaz Bono / Lacey Schwimmer .... 7th Place
Carson Kressley / Anna Trebunskaya .... 8th Place
Chynna Phillips / Tony Dovolani .... 9th Place
Kristin Cavallari / Mark Ballas .... 10th Place
Elisabetta Canalis / Valentin Chmerkovskiy .... 11th Place
Ron Artest / Peta Murgatroyd .... 12th Place


Season 14 / Spring 2012:

Donald Driver / Peta Murgatroyd .... Winners
Katherine Jenkins / Mark Ballas .... 2nd Place
William Levy / Cheryl Burke .... 3rd Place
Maria Menounos / Derek Hough .... 4th Place
Melissa Gilbert / Maksim Chmerkovskiy .... 5th Place
Roshon Fegan / Chelsie Hightower .... 6th Place
Jaleel White / Kym Johnson .... 7th Place
Gladys Knight / Tristan MacManus .... 8th Place
Gavin DeGraw / Karina Smirnoff .... 9th Place
Sherri Shepherd / Val Chmerkovskiy .... 10th Place
Jack Wagner / Anna Trebunskaya .... 11th Place
Martina Navratilova / Tony Dovolani .... 12th Place


Season 15 / Fall 2012:

Melissa Rycroft / Tony Dovolani .... Winners
Shawn Johnson / Derek Hough .... 2nd Place
Kelly Monaco / Val Chmerkovskiy .... 3rd Place
Emmitt Smith / Cheryl Burke .... 4th Place
Apolo Anton Ohno / Karina Smirnoff .... 5th Place
Gilles Marini / Peta Murgatroyd .... 6th Place
Kirstie Alley / Maksim Chmerkovskiy .... 7th Place
Sabrina Bryan / Louis van Amstel .... 8th Place
Bristol Palin / Mark Ballas .... 9th Place
Helio Castroneves / Chelsie Hightower .... 10th Place
Drew Lachey / Anna Trebunskaya .... 11th Place
Joey Fatone / Kym Johnson .... 12th Place
Pamela Anderson / Tristan MacManus .... 13th Place


Season 16 / Spring 2013:

Zendaya Coleman/Valentin Chmerkovskiy .... Winners
Jacoby Jones/Karina Smirnoff .... 2nd Place
Kellie Pickler/Derek Hough .... 3rd Place
Alexandra "Aly" Raisman/Mark Ballas .... 4th Place
Ingo Rademacher/Kym Johnson .... 5th Place
Sean Lowe/Peta Murgatroyd .... 6th Place
Andy Dick/Sharna Burgess .... 7th Place
Victor Ortiz/Lindsay Arnold .... 8th Place
D.L. Hughley/Cheryl Burke .... 9th Place
Lisa Vanderpump/Gleb Savchenko .... 10th Place
Wynonna Judd/Tony Dovolani .... 11th Place
Dorothy Hamill/Tristan MacManus .... 12th Place


Season 17 / Fall 2013:

Amber Riley/Derek Hough .... Winners
Corbin Bleu/Karina Smirnoff .... 2nd Place
Jack Osbourne/Cheryl Burke .... 3rd Place
Bill Engvall/Emma Slater .... 4th Place
Leah Remini/Tony Dovolani .... 5th Place
Elizabeth Berkley/Valentin Chmerkovskiy .... 6th Place
Brant Daugherty/Peta Murgatroyd .... 7th Place
Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi/Sasha Farber .... 8th Place
Christina Milian/Mark Ballas .... 9th Place
Valerie Harper/Tristan MacManus .... 10th Place
Bill Nye/Tyne Stecklein .... 11th Place
Keyshawn Johnson/Sharna Burgess .... 12th Place


Season 18 / Spring 2014:

Meryl Davis/Maksim Chmerkovskiy .... Winners
Amy Purdy/Derek Hough .... 2nd Place
Candace Cameron Bure/Mark Ballas .... 3rd Place
James Maslow/Peta Murgatroyd .... 4th Place
Charlie White/Sharna Burgess .... 5th Place
Danica McKellar/Valentin Chmerkovskiy .... 6th Place
NeNe Leakes/Tony Dovolani .... 7th Place
Drew Carey/Cheryl Burke .... 8th Place
Cody Simpson/Witney Carson .... 9th Place
Billy Dee Williams/Emma Slater .... 10th Place (Withdrew due to Williams chronic back problems)
Sean Avery/Karina Smirnoff .... 11th Place
Diana Nyad/Henry Byalikov .... 12th Place


Season 19 / Fall 2014:

Alfonso Ribeiro/Witney Carson .... Winners
Sadie Robertson/Mark Ballas .... 2nd Place
Janel Parrish/Valentin Chmerkovskiy .... 3rd Place
Bethany Mota/Derek Hough .... 4th Place
Tommy Chong/Peta Murgatroyd .... 5th Place
Lea Thompson/Artem Chigvintsev .... 6th Place
Michael Waltrip/Emma Slater .... 7th Place
Antonio Sabato Jr./Cheryl Burke .... 8th Place
Jonathan Bennett/Allison Holker .... 9th Place
Betsey Johnson/Tony Dovolani .... 10th Place
Randy Couture/Karina Smirnoff .... 11th Place
Tavis Smiley/Sharna Burgess .... 12th Place
Lolo Jones/Keoikantse Motsepe .... 13th Place

Dancing With the Stars Trivia

This series was inspired by the British series "Strictly Come Dancing" that airs on the BBC.

As of the end of season eleven, seven contestants have withdrawn from competition on Dancing With the Stars. Lil' Romeo dropped out prior to the season two premiere due to a basketball injury and his dad "Master P" took his place. In week six of the 3rd season, Sara Evans left due to personal complications caused by her divorce. Prior to the premiere of season 4 Vincent Pastore ("The Sopranos") quit after just one week of training. He said that he underestimated the physical demands of the competition and was replaced by John Ratzenberger ("Cheers"). Misty May-Treanor was forced to leave Dancing With the Stars in Season seven when she tore her Achilles Tendon during a rehearsal session and had to have corrective surgery. Both Jewel and Nancy O'Dell had serious injuries during rehearsals prior to the premiere of season eight. Jewel was replaced by Holly Madison ("Girls Next Door") and Melissa Rycroft ("The Bachelor") stood in for Nancy. Tom Delay reluctantly left the show in season nine after ongoing problems with his feet developed into a full stress fracture.

Season 11 of Dancing With the Stars saw a huge controversy when Bristol Palin remained on the show while other contestants that were generally considered to be better dancers were eliminated from the competition. Bristol's critics felt that her mother's political supporters voted for her regardless of her performance. On several occasions, Tom Bergeron stated that the judges scores are just one factor in determining who remains on the show and that the audience's votes were the other factor. He went on to state that the method being used would not be changed. There were also accusations that Palin's voters were voting more than the number of times allowed and ABC stated that they had security procedures that prevented that possibility but could not elaborate on what they were without giving information that might aid cheaters in defeating their security.

Fans can vote by toll-free telephone number, on the ABC web site and by text message. Votes are limited per person to the number of couples performing using each of those methods or five times per method, whichever is larger. So if there are eight couples performing, each person can cast 24 votes for their favorite if they use all three methods. It was revealed in season 11 that voting online did not require a valid email address so fans could vote unlimited times. That is what ABC was referring to when they said that they had security measures that prevented that possibility. Several commonly known methods are available that could be used to determine that votes are coming from the same person even though an invalid email address is used. Only ABC knows whether or not they use methods that really work. If they didn't before, it's likely that they do now due to the controversy.

The actual way that eliminatees are determined is that each couple's judge's score is determined by the percentage of the total points that each team receives for their performance. For example, if the judges award 250 total points and a couple gets a score of 25 points then their judge's score is 10%. The audience voting score is simply the percentage of the total votes that a couple receives. The two percentages are added together and the couple with the lowest combined score is eliminated.