Las Vegas Weekly

August 31, 2010 · 9:30 AM

ABC announces cast of Season 11 of Dancing With the Stars

By Don Chareunsy

The cast of Season 11 of ABC's Dancing With the Stars: Brandy, Jennifer Grey, Margaret Cho, Audrina Patridge, Florence Henderson, Bristol Palin, David Hasselhoff, Kurt Warner, Kyle Massey, Rick Fox and co-hosts Brooke Burke and Tom Bergeron. Not pictured: Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino and Michael Bolton.

Photo: Craig Sjodin/ABC TV

By Don Chareunsy, Vegas DeLuxe editor

After weeks of speculation, the Season 11 cast of ABC’s juggernaut Dancing With the Stars was announced last night during Bachelor Pad, and it includes the usual rag-tag group of celebrities, as well as a handful of Las Vegas regulars.

The stars hoping to succeed Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger as the winner of the champion’s mirrored disco ball trophy are Grammy-winning singer Michael Bolton, Grammy-winning singer Brandy, comedienne and actress Margaret Cho, retired NBA player Rick Fox, actress Jennifer Grey, actor and singer David Hasselhoff, actress Florence Henderson, The Disney Channel star Kyle Massey, politician Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol Palin, reality TV star Audrina Patridge of MTV’s The Hills, reality TV star Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino of MTV’s Jersey Shore and retired Super Bowl-winning NFL quarterback Kurt Warner.

The Situation and Patridge are Las Vegas regulars, with the six-pack-abs-baring The Situation recently hosting at Rehab at the Hard Rock Hotel and perfect-bikini-body Patridge at MGM’s Wet Republic. Hasselhoff was part of the cast of Mel Brooks’ The Producers at the Paris, and Cho has a show at The Pearl in the Palms on Sept. 17.

Professional dancers Mark Ballas, Cheryl Burke, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Tony Dovolani, Chelsie Hightower, Derek Hough, Kym Johnson, Alec Mazo, Lacey Schwimmer, Karina Smirnoff, Anna Trebunskaya and Louis Van Amstel have been confirmed for Season 11, while Jonathan Roberts and Damian Whitewood will perform during results shows. Edyta Sliwinska, the only pro to compete in all 10 seasons, announced via Twitter that she is departing the show to focus on school and other projects.

The only pairing revealed thus far is Ballas with Palin; the couples are scheduled to be announced tomorrow. Tom Bergeron and Brooke Burke, Season 7’s champion with hometown hero Hough, return as co-hosts, and Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli are back as the panel of judges. Hough won last season with Scherzinger.

Season 11 of DWTS kicks off Sept. 20, and Vegas DeLuxe will be back for another full season with tweets from the live East Coast broadcast, followed by recaps with spoiler alerts.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.

Share This