Dancing with the Stars

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Dancing with the Stars is a highly entertaining reality dance competition that airs on ABC in the fall and again in the spring. Now in its 15th season, Emmy-winning host Tom Bergeron and co-host Brooke Burke Charvet, along with the dancers, continue to delight their fans and hold on to the show’s consistently high ratings. The competition part of the show airs Monday nights followed by the emotionally charged elimination show on Tuesday nights.

Dancing with the Stars pairs celebrities with professional dancers who nurture their celebrity partners to their peak dancing potential, the goal being to win the competition and take home the prized mirror ball trophy. During a typical week, each dancing pair competes Monday night in one or more dance routines. They are then awarded points by the three judges - the charming Carrie Ann Inaba, the chronically crabby Len Goodman and the highly excitable Bruno Tonioli. After each competition, the judges remind the fans to vote for their favorites as many seasons have had some unexpected surprises and upsets, with pairs ranked high by the judges going home prematurely because complacent fans failed to cast their votes.

Following the show, fans have several hours to vote. The judges’ points and the fans’ votes are combined to determine the pair ranking. The bottom three pairs are placed “in jeopardy.” After some tense moments, two of the three pairs are told they will be staying. The unfortunate bottom pair is sent home amid hugs and tears from the remaining competitors.

Each season starts with 13 pairs of dancers. Celebrities have included actors, athletes, comedians, singers and some who have become celebrities simply for who they are like Bristol Palin, daughter of Sarah Palin, ex-VP candidate and Chaz Bono, who made his appearance season 13 as the transgendered Chastity Bono. While neither Bristol nor Chaz were the best dancers, they both developed fan bases that kept them in the competition longer than other more skilled competitors.

This fall Dancing with the Stars is celebrating its 15th season with its first “All Stars” celebrity returns. Winners and fan favorites from past seasons have been invited back to compete once again. Returnees included blonde bombshell Pamela Anderson, who was booted off the first week and ‘N Sync’s Joey Fatone, also voted off early. Some of the other returnees include former Olympians Apolo Anton Ono and Shawn Johnson, fan favorites Kirstie Alley and Bristol Palin, NFL football great Emmitt Smith and Kelly Monaco from General Hospital who was also the show's first-season winner. Most seasons include a token sexy male celebrity. This season's token is the smooth dancing, dreamy actor Gilles Marini.

The professional dancers include regulars like the lovely Cheryl Burke and Anna Trebunskaya, the sizzling Chmerkovskiy brothers and the super talented Derek Hough, who not only bring their professional skills to the competition but also some fun and flair. The often petulant, abs-endowed Maks Chmerkovskiy has the reputation for arguing with the judges while also taking his shirt off at every opportunity.

In addition to the celebrity stars, Dancing with the Stars also invites many special guests to the show throughout the season. This season we’ve already seen Paula Abdul return as a guest judge, Justin Bieber and Pitbull perform, reknown tenor Placido Domingo sing a duet with the multi-talented Katherine Jenkins, who was last season’s runner-up. Past guests have included such biggies as KISS and Adele. Overall, Dancing with the Stars is a jam-packed show filled with some spectacular and some not-so-spectacular dancing, loads of talent, some occasional drama and many hours of lively entertainment. Do you have a TV show, movie or webisode idea? Click here