'Dancing With the Stars' Season 21: Who are the pro dancers?
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Molly Driscoll Staff writer
TV network ABC has announced some of the pro dancers who will be participating in the upcoming season of 鈥淒ancing With the Stars.鈥�
Derek Hough, Mark Ballas, Valentin Chmerkovskiy, Artem Chigvintsev, Allison Holker, Peta Murgatroyd, Sharna Burgess, and Witney Carson will reportedly all be in the fall season. Also appearing on the show for the upcoming season will be dancer Karina Smirnoff, who did not participate in the program this past spring. More professional participants may be announced later on.
The celebrities who will participate in the upcoming season will be announced on Sept. 2 and the new season will debut on Sept. 14.
鈥淪tars鈥� has professionals team up with celebrities to perform various dance styles. The show debuted on ABC in 2005 in the U.S. and usually airs a fall and a spring season. DWTS is one of ABC-TV's top rated shows, with an average of 13. 1 million viewers this past spring. Last season saw actress Rumer Willis win the competition with professional dancer Chmerkovskiy as her partner.
Appearing on 鈥淒ancing鈥� as professional dancers has given many of the show鈥檚 participants a boost in public profile. Such pros as Chmerkovskiy, Smirnoff, and Derek Hough have become household names and Julianne Hough, Derek鈥檚 sister, in particular has benefited from her exposure on the show. Julianne Hough participated in the show as a professional dancer beginning in 2007 (she鈥檚 won it twice) and has since appeared in such films as the 2010 movie 鈥淏urlesque,鈥� the 2011 remake of 鈥淔ootloose,鈥� and the 2013 movie 鈥淪afe Haven." She's also set to appear in the lead role of Sandy in the upcoming Fox聽live production of the musical 鈥淕rease," which will air this January.
Hough herself , 鈥淭hey have followed me from聽Dancing with the Stars聽to my other aspirations.鈥澛�
Hough now serves as a judge on 鈥淒ancing鈥� along with Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, and Bruno Tonioli. The upcoming season of 鈥淒ancing鈥� will be the show鈥檚 21st.
