Last week ABC revealed the all-star lineup for Dancing With The Stars Season 18 and earlier today the network released the always-amazing official cast portraits featuring the stars and their dance partners together!
In case you missed it, the official Dancing With The Stars Season 18 pairings are (from top to bottom, left to right in the photo above):
Charlie White and Charna Brugess
NeNe Leakes and Tony Dovolani
Meryl Davis and Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Candace Cameron-Bure and Mark Ballas
Cody Simpson and Whitney Carson
Amy Purdy and Derek Hough
Drew Carey and Cheryl Burke
Billy Dee Williams and Emma Slater
James Maslow and Peta Murgatroyd
Danica McKellar and Val Chmerkovskiy
Diana Nyad and Henry Byalikov
Sean Avery and Karina Smirnoff
However, you shouldn’t get too attached to the pairings because ABC has revealed this season will include a bit of a twist as it introduces for the first time what they are calling “The Switch Up.” At some point during the season, “America will be given the power to vote and change celebrities and professional dance pairings,” according to the show’s website. “This new rule will affect all couples as they will be required to switch partners at a point in the season.”
Usually I’m a little averse to tried and true reality competitions trying to “mix it up,” but “switching partners” on a dance competition seems incredibly appropriate (and fun), so I’m looking forward to the twist! (My only question would be how the switch will impact the DWTS history books as far as which dancer “wins” the competition. Will both be credited?)
Annnnnnnnyways…. Here is a slideshow gallery of all the official Dancing With The Stars Season 18 cast photos — just click the images to enlarge.
