Trav's Thoughts

Woooooooooooooooooo!!!!! How excited am I?

The cast for DWTS season 7 was annoucned yesterday.

Lance Bass teams up with Lacey Schwimmer. Lance is a former member of the vocal group N'Sync. He has parlayed that success into several entertainment production ventures in music, television, and film. Lacey is a former Youth Latin Champion and a World Swing Dance Champion. Despite her young age, Lacey has extensive teaching experience as a member of the iHollywood Dance Faculty, and as a master class instructor in Norway. She also reached the Top 4 in season 3 of So You Think You Can Dance. YAY for the cross over!


Toni Braxton will dance with Alec Mazo. Toni is a Grammy Award winning singer and an actress who has appeard on Broadway. She has been out of the entertainment business for the last six years recovering from a health issue. Alec was the first season champion with his celebrity partner Kelly Monaco, and returns for his fourth season of DWTS. He runs two ballroom dance schools on the west coast and is a former Latin Amateur Champion, as well as a six time US National Finalist for Latin Amateur. He is married to fellow DWTS pro Edyta Sliwinska, with whom he has recently entered professional competitions.


Brooke Burke is paired with Derek Hough. Brooke may be best known as a magazine and swimsuit model. She has hosted numerous network series such as Rock Star and Wild On. She has also acted in several TV series. Derek is a former World Champion Latin dancer and IDSF World Youth Latin Champion. He has danced in productions of Footloose and Jesus Christ Superstar. Derek returns for his third season.


Rocco Dispirito teams with Karina Smirnoff. Rocco is an award winning celebrity chef and author. He has opened several restaurants in New York, and launched one new restaurant live on TV as part of the program The Restaurant. He has another A&E series due in October with a companion cookbook. Karina is a five time US National Champion, World Trophy Champion, and Asian Open Champion. She is the first woman to make the British Professional Final, and she did it with three different partners. Karina returns for her fifth season.


Maruice Greene will dance with Cheryl Burke. Maruice is a two time gold medalist in the 100m sprint and 4x100m relay at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. He held the world record in the 100m, is a former world champion in the event, and won sliver and bronze medals at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. He currently owns the world record in the indoor 60m sprint. Cheryl is a former World Cup Professional Rising Star Latin Champion and a two time Emmy nominee for her oustanding choreography on DWTS. She is a two time DWTS champion and returns for her sixth season.


Kim Kardashian is paired with Mark Ballas. Kim has carved out her celebrity as an actress, model, and with a role on the reality series Keeping up with the Kardashians. She is attempting to break into film as well. Mark is a former juvenile dance champion and junior Latin American Dance champion. He is also a singer and songwriter with several musical credits. Mark won DWTS with Kristi Yamaguchi last season. He has the highest average score for any pro dancer on the show, and returns for his third season.


Cloris Leachman teams with Corky Ballas. Ms Leachman has won nine Emmys, a Golden Globe, and an Oscar. She is a well respected star of theater, television, and film. Her most memorable role for me is Frau Bleucher (insert deranged horse whinny here) from Young Frankenstein. At 82, Ms Leachman is the oldest celebrity to dance on the show. The Ballas name is famous throughout the ballroom and Latin dance world. Corky is a former World British Champion and a seven times undefeated US International Latin Champion. He judges professional competitions and teaches. In fact, he has instructed several of the pros on DWTS including Derek & Julianne Hough as well as his son Mark.


Cody Linley will dance with Julianne Hough. Cody is the youngest celebrity to dance on the show and is best know as Jake Ryan on the Hannah Montana series. He has also been in several films. Julianne comes from a family of dancers and is the youngest dancer and only American to win both the Junior World Latin Champion and the International Latin Youth Champion at the Blackpool Dance Festival. Most recently she released a country music album in May 2008. Julianne is a two time DWTS champion and returns for her fourth season.


Susan Lucci is paired with Tony Dovolani. Ms Lucci is the distinguished daytime actress from All My Children. This November she will celebrate her 10,000th episode as Erica Kane. She finally won a daytime Emmy in 1999, after being nominated 19 times previously. She has performed on Broadway. She is also a successful entrepreneur. Tony was never defeated in the American Rhythm category of America's Ballroom Challenge, up until his retirement in 2006. He has been nomiated for an Emmy for his choreography on DWTS and returns for his sixth season. Although Tony has a bit of a diva reputation, he maintains that ballroom dance is about the woman and says the man's role is to provide a frame to show her off.


Misty May-Treanor teams with Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Misty is a two time Olympic champion in beach volleyball with partner Kerri Walsh. She won her second gold medal just last week in Beijing. It was also her 108th straight match win. Maks is a former Latin Champion and owns three dance studios in New York. His students have performed several times on DWTS. He is a founder and sits on the board of directors of Dance Team USA, which strives to increase youth awareness and participation in ballroom and Latin dance. Maks returns for his fifth season.

Ted McGinley will dance with Inna Brayer. Ted is a an actor with a long list of credits including Married with Children, Happy Days, The Love Boat, and Hope & Faith, as well as numerous guest roles. Inna is a former US Amateur champion and has danced at the World Championships. I need to find out more about Inna...I know I've seen her on PBS. She joins DWTS for the first time.


Jeffrey Ross is paired with Edyta Sliwinska. Jeffrey is a comedian known as the Roastmaster General. New York Magazine has called him the Meanest Man in Comedy. He has made the rounds of late night talk shows and has guest appearances on several tv shows and in some films. Edyta is a former Latin Amateur Champion, International Grand Ballroom champion, and Holiday Ballroom champion. She returns for her seventh season and is the only professional to dance in every season. She is married to fellow DWTS pro Alec Mazo, with whom she has recently entered professional competitions. And she has some LEGS LEGS LEGS LEGS!


Warren Sapp teams with Kym Johnson. Warren won a Super Bowl as a defensive tackle with Tampa Bay, and recently retired from the Oakland Raiders. After 13 NFL seasons, he retired with the second most sacks for a tackle since the stat has been tracked. He is a former Defensive Player of the Year and played in 7 consecutive Pro Bowls. Kym has been a ballroom dancer in Australia and the US. She is a former finalist at the Australian Dancesport Championships in the Open Amateur Modern Ballroom division and at the UK Ballroom Championships at Blackpool. She has since retired from competition to pursue a film career. Kym returns for her fifth season on DWTS after three seasons on the Australian version of the show.

There they are!

Tune in for the mega-double-step-over-lip-lock three night season premier beginning Sept 22. We'll see two nights of dancing, and then two couples will be eliminated on Sept 24.

Special guests on the results show include the ubiquitous Jonas Brothers, along with Jesse McCartney.

And check this out...the Macy's Stars of Dance feature returns to the results shows. And there will be a special performance on Oct 21 to commemorate Macy's 150th anniversary. And we'll have a second season of the Kids Ballroom Competition!

Did you happen to notice that I'm just a bit excited?

You did?

Drat! I was trying to be calm and cool.

Bwahahahahahahahaaaa!

Later babies!