Page 19 of Sway

Official Press Release

TWELVE STARS LIGHT up the dance floor when Dancing under the Stars returns for a spectacular twenty-sixth season.

Twelve celebrities—six men and six women—attempt to outshine one another on the eighteenth season of the hit series Dancing under the Stars. The twenty-sixth season cast includes some of our most lauded stars yet: two Grammy Award winners, an Emmy award winner, a Playmate of the Year, two Olympic Gold medalists, and the NBA's current sixth Man of the Year.

Today, the producers are revealing the names of the first six celebrities on the show. The remaining stars will be disclosed later in the week.

The first six stars making their ballroom dancing debut are:

LILIA GARCIA—Filipina-American model, Lilia Garcia is YouTube’s most popular artist. Lilia stars in her own reality show, Lilia’s Love Life, where both men and women vie for her affection.

DION JACKSON—Dion made history as television’s first African-American man on the hit dating show The Suitor. Dion is a financier and has a MBA from Harvard and a BA in Economics from Stanford.

TIM LEE—Tim Lee was the first Asian-American player in the NBA. He also has an Olympic gold medal in basketball as part of Team USA.

XAVIER VIRAMONTES—Xavier Viramontes is a mixed martial artist. He is a former UFC Light Heavyweight champion. He also designs and operates his clothing line, Salvation.

JAMAL “CASH DOLLAR, C. DOLLA, DOLLA” WATKINS—Dolla is a media mogul; he is the CEO of Mogul Man records, head of Jamal Trey clothing, and is also a rapper and actor.

TONY ZAVE—Tony is the drummer of the glam metal group Möxie Cörps. Tony has recently been a top reality star, with shows such as Tony Zave Goes to College and Metal God.

Hosted by Matt Brinkman and Deborah Mares, the celebrities will perform choreographed dance routines, which will be judged by renowned ballroom judges Benjamin Brooks, Steve Samson, and Karen Lopez.

Mambo

She flipped up her skirt. Enticed, he danced up behind her and put his hands on her waist. She shimmied her hips as he turned her toward him and they pounced on the beat. Flicking her heels up, her movement became frenzied. Just when she caught her breath, he dipped her. Her long hair swept the floor and he brought her to his chest. They gazed into each other’s eyes as the music died.

7

Salomé

DOLLA STUDIES HIMSELF in the mirror before we take the stage for the show’s season premiere. He frowns and shakes his head. “I don’t know ‘bout this outfit, Sal.” I laugh. He’s dead-on about that—the poor guy looks like the mutant offspring of a parrot and a bottle of Squirt soda. He’s all done up in an open, lemon-and-lime-colored silk shirt with orange feathers sprouting out of his arms. If he started flapping, he’d probably lift right off the ground.

“Yeah, you do kinda look like you might fly away,” I admit as I walk over to the stereo and turn on our music. “But, no, it’s good. Very traditional mambo. The judges will like it.”

“Really?” he asks. Then he shrugs. “Hey, you’re boss. What you say goes. One more time?” He grabs my hand.

We start to dance our routine on the small black practice floor behind the main set. A couple of random key grips and assistants roam around.

Dolla is a machine. He is the one always asking for one more practice round. My dream partner. And he can totally dance. He started giving me respect once he realized how fierce I am about my dancing.

Dolla’s face lights up. He twists and shakes to the music, in perfect beat. We just might win.

The music abruptly stops.

“Hey!” Dolla snaps.

Vika is at the corner of the practice floor changing the track. “Oh, I’m so sorry guys. Weren’t you done? Here, I’ll put it back on for you.”

She puts on a big, doe-eyed innocent face, which contrasts with the God-awful stripper costume she’s wearing, probably rummaged out of her closet. But she’s not gonna shake me. “No thanks, Vika, we’re all done.” Make nice, we promised. “Good luck tonight.”

“Okay. See you guys out there.” She bites her bloated fuchsia painted lip, then suddenly smiles like some freakin’ Mary Sunshine when she notices a TMZ reporter ogling her. “Ni pukha, ni pera,” she tosses our way as I usher Dolla toward the red room.

He gestures his head back Vika’s way. “What was all that ‘pookie knee parrot’ stuff? What did she say?”

“It’s like break a leg in Russian. It actually means neither down from a duck, nor feather.”

“Duck? Who’s she callin’ a duck?” he cries, straightening his back and adjusting his fluffy yellow costume. “I’ll have you know I’m a bona fide canary.”