Ten pro dancers including Kym Johnson are set to compete for the ABC mirrorball trophy again on 'Dancing with the Stars' during the next season.
- Feb 13, 2015
AceShowbiz - The first 10 pro dancers set to return for the upcoming season 20 of "Dancing with the Stars" are revealed on "Good Morning America". The announcement was made on heels of Karina Smirnoff's departure from the ABC show.
Fans' favorites Mark Ballas, Val Chmerkovskiy, Peta Murgatroyd, and Tony Dovolani are among the lineup. It will make Dovolani's longest-running pro on the dancing competition for a record 19th season.
Kym Johnson are returning to the show after leaving for three seasons to be on her home country's version of "The Celebrity Apprentice" and "DWTS". Whitney Carson who won with Alfonso Ribeiro in the previous season will be back to defend her title.
Artem Chigvintsev and Allison Holker who made their debut as pros last season are invited back as well and so is Sharna Burgess who made it to the semifinals with Olympian ice dancer Charlie White in season 18. They are joined by another dancer Emma Slater.
"I think you're going to see a lot that you haven't seen before," Burgess said. "It's quite scary for us because you never know, we don't know where the cameras are going to be. We don't know when they're going to be on." But she's ready to "dive in head first and eat up the whole experience."
The dancing show will celebrate the 10th anniversary this year. The upcoming season will premiere on March 16. Producers are expected to bring back Disney and Latin theme nights and introduce a new Spring Break special night. More pro dancers are expected to be announced soon.
Smirnoff previously said she exited the show to focus on "some other exciting endeavors" including being an author. Meanwhile, Cheryl Burke leaves for a new NBC show and Derek Hough takes a break to play the lead role in an upcoming Radio City production. Head judge Len Goodman is also expected to leave.
