Las Vegas Weekly

September 2, 2010 · 2:51 AM

Photos: DWTS’ Season 11 contestants begin rehearsals

By Don Chareunsy

Audrina Patridge and Tony Dovolani rehearse for Season 11 of ABC's Dancing With the Stars.

Photo: Greg Zabilski/ABC TV

By Don Chareunsy, Vegas DeLuxe editor

The hard work -- rehearsals -- begins now that the Season 11 cast of ABC’s top-rated Dancing With the Stars has been revealed, the 12 celebrities have been paired with professional dancers and the odds of who will come out on top have been released for entertainment purposes only.

The first rehearsal photographs by Greg Zabilski of ABC have been released, with the following couples getting to know one another a little better on the dance floor: Las Vegas regular and The Hills beauty Audrina Patridge and Tony Dovolani; actress Jennifer Grey and Season 10 champion Derek Hough; comedienne and actress Margaret Cho, who is at The Pearl in the Palms on Sept. 17, with Louis Van Amstel; Grammy-winning singer Michael Bolton with Las Vegas native Chelsie Hightower; actress Florence Henderson with Corky Ballas; and Grammy-winning singer Brandy with Le Reve choreographer Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

The remaining six couples are retired L.A. Lakers star Rick Fox and Cheryl Burke; actor, singer and former Las Vegas headliner David Hasselhoff and Kym Johnson; Las Vegas regular and Jersey Shore hunk Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino and Karina Smirnoff; retired Super Bowl-winning quarterback Kurt Warner and Anna Trebunskaya; The Disney Channel star Kyle Massey and Lacy Schwimmer; and politician Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas.

Wynn Director of Race & Sports Book Operations and odds-maker Johnny Avello’s first pre-season odds has Fox and two-time pro winner Burke at the top, followed by Grey and two-time pro champion Hough. Let’s just hope this season’s group of celebrities isn’t as whiny and accident-prone as Season 10’s.

Season 11 begins Sept. 20. For a little fun trivia, check out which celebrities turned down requests to compete on Season 11 -- and learn the identity of the celebrity who wants to compete but is repeatedly denied. One hint: She has a head for business and a bod for sin.

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.

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