Who is returning for DWTS Season 11?

I noticed people are already starting to ask about DWTS and if dancers are coming back.  (I wonder how annoying it gets for the dancers to have to answer that question over and over?)  ;)

Here's the deal - the dancers do not find out if they are returning until just before the season starts. Usually about 4 weeks before. Since the season doesn't start until September 20, 2010, I wouldn't expect any of the dancers to know if they are returning until the middle or end of August. Last summer (for season 9), it was mid-august before the dancers knew.  For season 10, they found out even later...only 3 weeks before the season started.

It all depends on the casting. The casting department has the difficult job of choosing a cast of celebrities each season that will:

• be interesting to watch
• reach out to as many viewer groups as possible
• will pair well with a pro dancer from the pool of pros at DWTS
• will work well as a whole cast

They go about doing this in a number of ways. There are many celebrities that request to be on the show - either they are big fans and want to give it a go, or it is a career move (get their face in the media again). Either way, these celebrities are considered for each season.  The casting department also reaches out to celebrities that they think would work well on the show and would enjoy doing the show.  And, finally, it's becoming more common for ABC to pimp their other shows by putting personalities on DWTS (i.e.: the Bachelor, Jake Pavelka).  I'm not fond of this last practice, but whatevs. Not much we can do about it.

There is a lot involved in getting an entire cast together each season and it can take a long time to nail it down. Sometimes contracts don't get signed until the very last minute.  This is why we don't know the celebrity list until the last minute. And this is also why the dancers don't know if they will be returning until the last minute. It's not really about ABC trying to be all sneaky - yeah they want to keep the locked down celebrities a secret so the big reveal of the whole cast is interesting - but the honest truth is that they just don't know what the final cast list is until just before it's announced.

In the first few seasons of DWTS, the producers did not tell the pro dancers who they were paired with before they met - it was a complete surprise to both the celebrity and the pro.  But, as I understand it, there were a few embarrassing moments when the pro didn't know who the celebrity was and had to ask "uhm, who are you?" Whoops. ;) So, they started telling the pros who they are paired with the day before they meet, so the pro will absolutely know who their celebrity is. :)

So, be patient. :) The dancers WANT to come back, but they honestly won't know if they get chosen as a pro for any given season until right before the season starts. Give it another month and we'll know. :) And, even if they don't get selected as a pro coach, they will probably still show up in the pro dance numbers on Tuesdays. :)

And that reminds me of another topic of confusion for some: It's not just about how popular the pro is, it also has to do with what celebrities sign on for the season.  Mark Ballas is 5'8", which means he can't dance with a gal who is taller than 5'6"-ish. And that might be pushing it. He looks better dancing with shorter gals. :) Also, he's a young gun, so they are gonna try to pair him with someone who is in their 30's or younger. Not only does it look a bit odd for a 24 year old guy to be dancing with a 50 year old...it's also entirely possible that Mark's peer group (fans near his age) wouldn't even know who the woman is....that's not good for voting. ;)  They also need to think about personalities.  The celebrity and the pro will be spending HUGE amounts of time together.  They need to get along.  It's not an exact science, but I think the casting department does a good job of pairing up personalities on the show.  Celebrities can request a certain pro as their partner, but it isn't a given that they will get that pro....the casting peeps know what will work and what won't.

{deleted the descriptions of his partners (body type, personality, age) and discussion of Sabrina b/c it was misunderstood and upsetting to some folks. I never wanted to hurt anyone. So, I'll just remove it. Sorry guys. love you all!}

Mark is a very sweet guy - he's passionate and very driven, but he's very dorky and enjoys being silly. The casting department tends to pair him with sweet ladies who have a silly personality as well or who are shy and need the type of guy who is encouraging and warm.

Two months from today! Wish it were tomorrow! ;) But, DWTS Season 11 will be here soon enough...I'll just have to be patient. :) 

ABC's Dancing with the Stars homepage: http://abc.go.com/shows/dancing-with-the-stars