ANNOUNCING DANCING WITH THE STARS Part 1

It's that time again . . .

ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 on ABC (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET)

Announcing...IN A SEASON OF SURPRISES, THIRTEEN NEW STARS WILL SHINE AS DANCING WITH THE STARS RETURNS FOR ITS SEVENTH SEASON

The Three-Night Premiere Event Begins Monday, September 22

Two Couples Will Be Eliminated During the First Week of Competition

Jesse McCartney Perform on Dancing with the Stars: The Results Show, Wednesday, September 24.

It will be a season of surprises in what promises to be the biggest and most demanding season ever as thirteen celebrities take the ballroom floor on the hit series Dancing with the Stars, which returns with a three-night premiere event, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET) on ABC. Each week, all new surprises and twists await viewers. Season seven marks the largest cast assembled to date, the oldest and youngest competitors ever, and includes two Olympic Gold medallists, a Grammy®-winning singer, a television legend, an Oscar® winner, and a Super Bowl champion. Additionally, all four professional dancers who've previously tasted the thrill of victory return to compete against one another for bragging rights. Can one of them reclaim the mirror ball trophy?

For the first time ever, all thirteen teams must prepare two routines for the first week of competition, one of which they'll perform on Monday night. The judges will score the performances on Monday while the viewers cast their votes for their favorites. Only twelve will have the chance to showcase their second dance on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 (9:00-10:0 p.m., ET). In dramatic style on Tuesday's show, one couple will be eliminated as the remaining contestants perform their second dance of the season. The judges will score the dances on Tuesday and the viewers will once again cast their votes before a second duo is dismissed WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET).

In alphabetical order, the thirteen stars making their ballroom dancing debut are:













LANCE BASS -
Lance Bass has sold over 50 million records as a member of the phenomenally successful pop group *NSYNC. He also executive produced and starred in a number of film and television projects. In 2002 he successfully trained to be a cosmonaut at Russia's Star City and was certified by both the Russian Space Program and NASA for a mission aboard a Soyuz capsule. Lance has also released his memoir, Out of Sync, for Simon Spotlight Entertainment. The 2006 U.S. Youth Latin Champ and 2007 World Swing Dance Champ, and direct from “So You Think You Can Dance 3.” Lacey Schwimmer teams up with Lance to make her series debut.


TONI BRAXTON - The winner of six Grammy Awards, Toni Braxton is a Billboard chart-topping singer and actress, selling over forty million records worldwide. Her U.S. number-one hit Un-Break My Heart is the second biggest single by a female artist in history. She has also appeared in two Disney Broadway shows: Beauty and the Beast and Aida. Dancing with the Stars marks her return to the spotlight after a six-month health hiatus. She teams up with season one champion, Alec Mazo, who returns for his fourth season.

BROOKE BURKE - A host, actress, entrepreneur and celebrity mom, Brooke Burke has truly done it all. She has graced numerous magazine covers, has her own top-selling swimsuit calendars, and is regularly ranked in men's magazines as one of the sexiest women in the world. Recognized worldwide as host of the hit travel series Wild On!, Brooke has since hosted several high profile network series, including Rock Star: INXS and Rock Star: Supernova. On the acting front, she has guest-starred on such television series as Las Vegas, Less Than Perfect, Eve, It's All Relative, The Bernie Mac Show, Monk, Rock Me Baby and That's Life. Brooke is a mother of four and recently launched her own baby store http://www.babooshbaby.com/, a site where she shares her secrets (and some products she used) to get back in shape after giving birth. Brooke teams with Derek Hough who returns for his third season.

ROCCO DISPIRITO - The James Beard Award-winning celebrity chef and author Rocco DiSpirito combines his world-class cooking with a passion for empowering home cooks. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Rocco opened the 3-star Union Pacific in New York City in 1997. In 2003 he launched Rocco's for the reality series, The Restaurant. Rocco will next appear on the A&E series, Rocco Gets Real, beginning in October, along with its companion cookbook, Rocco Gets Real: Cook at Home Every Day. He teams with Karina Smirnoff who returns for her fifth season. Karina teamed with R&B singer, Mario, last season.

MAURICE GREENE - The winner of two gold medals, in the 100m sprint and the 4x100m relay at the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics, track star Maurice Greene was dubbed the "World's Fastest Man" during his career. In addition to being the former world record holder in the 100m sprint, and winning multiple world championships, he also won silver and bronze medals at the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics. He is the current Indoor World Record holder in the 60m at 6.39 seconds. He teams up with two-time champion, Cheryl Burke. Cheryl returns for her sixth season.