An all new lineup of stars -- including a [b]legendary astronaut[/b], a Bachelor, an Olympic gold medalist, a Bengal, an ESPN Reporter, a pop singer, a "90210" alum, an actor, a comedienne and a reality television star who is the mother of eight -- will strut their stuff on the dance floor in the highly anticipated two-hour season premiere of "Dancing with the Stars," Monday, March 22 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.
All eleven couples will dance for the first time on live national television on Monday, March 22 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET), with couples either performing the Viennese Waltz or Cha Cha. In week two, all of the couples will return to dance their second routines in a two-hour show, Monday, March 29 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET). The couple with the lowest combined judges' scores and public votes for both performances will be sent home on Tuesday, March 30 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) in the season premiere of "Dancing with the Stars the Results Show."
The eleven celebrities heading to the dance floor this season, as announced tonight on the finale of the "The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love," are:
[b]Buzz Aldrin[/b]. Credit: ABC.com
[b]Buzz Aldrin[/b] - Astronaut, scientist/inventor, bestselling author, advocate for man's future in space, Buzz Aldrin is considered one of the greatest heroes of space exploration. On July 20, 1969, he and Neil Armstrong made their historic Apollo 11 moonwalk, becoming the first two humans to set foot on another world. An estimated 600 million people -- the world's largest television audience in history -- witnessed this unprecedented, heroic endeavor. Upon his return from the Apollo 11 mission, Aldrin was decorated with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest American peacetime award. Born in 1930, Aldrin was educated at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He then joined the Air Force, where he flew 66 combat missions in Korea and was decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross. Dr. Aldrin received his Doctorate of Science in Astronautics at MIT before being selected by NASA in 1963. He devised docking and rendezvous techniques for spacecraft in Earth and lunar orbit which became critical to the success of the Gemini and Apollo programs. He has received three U.S. patents for his schematics of a modular space station, founded Starcraft Boosters, Inc., a rocket design company, and the ShareSpace Foundation, a nonprofit devoted to advancing space education. An accomplished writer whose work has appeared on the New York Times bestseller list, Aldrin has most recently written an autobiography entitled Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon. Named after Aldrin are Asteroid "6470 Aldrin," "Aldrin Crater" on the moon, Buzz Lightyear from "Toy Story," and the MTV Music Video Award "The Moonman" was originally called "The Buzzy" and is shaped in his image.
[Omitted: biographies for Pamela Anderson, Erin Andrews, Shannon Doherty, Kate Gosselin, Evan Lysacek, Niecy Nash, Chad Ochocinco, Jake Pavelka, Nicole Scherzinger, and Aiden Turner]
"Dancing with the Stars" returns with new surprises and all the elements viewers have come to know and love. "Macy's Stars of Dance," which features some of the most renowned dancers and choreographers of our time, will be back with performances on "Dancing with the Stars the Results Show." One of the "Macy's Stars of Dance" performances will be the hugely popular "Design-a-Dance," where fans have the chance to select their favorite celebrity dancers, dance styles and wardrobe at abc.com. Three weeks of the competition will feature the return of the "Dance Off," where contestants will perform a dance style of their choosing to fight for their spot in the competition, followed by three consecutive single eliminations.
Below are key dates for Season 10 (dates and times subject to change): [list][*]"Dancing with the Stars," two-hour season premiere performance show, Monday, March 22 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET).
[*]"Dancing with the Stars the Results Show," one-hour season premiere, Tuesday, March 30 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET).
[*]"Dancing with the Stars," one-hour final performance show, Monday, May 24 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET).
[*]"Dancing with the Stars" season finale, two-hours, Tuesday, May 25 (9:00-11:00 p.m., ET)[/list] Each week this season, the celebrity and professional dance pairs will perform live choreographed Latin, traditional and contemporary ballroom dance routines to popular live music played by a 17-piece orchestra, led by musical director Harold Wheeler. Viewers may cast their votes for their favorite teams via phone on Monday night during and up to 30 minutes after the "Dancing with the Stars" performance shows. AT&T customers may also text message their votes by texting the word "VOTE" and entering the number that corresponds to the team they want to support (message and data rates may apply). Viewers may also vote online at abc.com starting from the opening of each episode on the East Coast and until 12:00 Noon, ET the following day.
Hosted by Tom Bergeron ("America's Funniest Home Videos"), the celebrities perform choreographed dance routines which will be judged by renowned Ballroom judge Len Goodman and dancer/ choreographers Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba, who all return for their tenth season together.
"Dancing with the Stars" is the U.S. version of the international smash hit series, "Strictly Come Dancing." This version is produced by BBC Worldwide Productions. Conrad Green serves as executive producer and Rob Wade is co-executive producer. Alex Rudzinski directs. "Dancing with the Stars" is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format, with 5.1 channel surround sound.