Season twelve of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

'' premiered on March 21, 2011, on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

network.

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

wide receiver

Hines Ward Hines Edward Ward Jr. (born March 8, 1976) is an American football coach and former wide receiver of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Georgia and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the ...

and

Kym Johnson Kym Herjavec (née Johnson; born 4 August 1976) is an Australian professional ballroom dancer and television performer who appeared in the first three seasons of the Australian version of ''Dancing with the Stars'' as a professional dancer, b ...

were the winners of the competition, while actress

Kirstie Alley Kirstie Louise Alley (January 12, 1951 – December 5, 2022) was an American actress. Her breakout role was as Rebecca Howe in the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1987–1993), for which she received an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe in 1991. From 1997 ...

and

Maksim Chmerkovskiy Maksim "Maks" Aleksandrovich Chmerkovskiy ( uk, Максим Олександрович Чмерковський ; born January 17, 1980) is a Ukrainian-American Latin–ballroom dance champion, choreographer, and instructor. He is widely known ...

finished second, and

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

star

Chelsea Kane Chelsea Kane Staub (born September 15, 1988) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her role as Stella Malone in the Disney Channel sitcom television series ''Jonas (TV series), Jonas'' and the role of Riley Perrin in the Freeform (T ...

and

Mark Ballas Mark Alexander Ballas Jr. (born May 24, 1986) is an American dancer, choreographer, singer-songwriter, musician, and actor. Ballas is a professional ballroom dancer on the ABC program ''Dancing with the Stars''. He began competing on the show ...

finished third.

Cast

Couples

A link on the official website gave viewers the chance to recommend celebrities whom they wanted to see on season 12 of the show. The cast was revealed on February 28, 2011, during '' The Bachelor'', and the professional partners were revealed on March 2. Hip-hop artist

Romeo Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a priest ...

, who had been slated to appear on

season 2 Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album) * '' 2econd Season'' See also

* {{disambig ...

before he had to withdraw due to an injury, was one of the contestants to compete this season. This was also the first season to feature a dance troupe, which consisted of six dancers:

Oksana Dmytrenko Oksana (Dmytrenko) Platero ( ua, Оксана Дмитренко) is a Ukrainian ballroom and Latin dancer. She spent five seasons as a member of the troupe on Dancing with the Stars in the United States. She joined the United Kingdom's Strictly ...

Tristan MacManus Tristan MacManus (born 23 July 1982) is an Irish dancer and television presenter. He best known for his professional appearances on ''Dancing with the Stars'', ''Strictly Come Dancing'' and '' Dancing with the Stars Australia''. In 2017, he wen ...

Peta Murgatroyd Peta Jane Murgatroyd (born 14 July 1986) is a New Zealand-born Australian and American professional Latin dancer. She performed in the international tour of the dance production ''Burn the Floor'', including its Broadway run. She is best known fo ...

Kiki Nyemchek ''So You Think You Can Dance'', an American dance competition show, returned for its fourteenth season on Monday, June 12, 2017. The new season's judge panel once again features series creator Nigel Lythgoe (who also serves as executive producer), ...

, Nicole Volynets, and Ted Volynets. ;Future appearances Kirstie Alley returned for the All-Stars season, where she was again paired with Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

Host and judges

Carrie Ann Inaba Carrie Ann Inaba (born January 5, 1968) is an American television personality, dancer, choreographer, actress, and singer. She is best known for her work on ABC TV's ''Dancing with the Stars'' for which she has served as a judge since 2005. She c ...

Bruno Tonioli Bruno Tonioli (; born 25 November 1955) is an Italian choreographer, ballroom and Latin dancer, and Television personality. He has appeared as a judge on the British television dance competition ''Strictly Come Dancing'' and American adaptation ...

, and

Len Goodman Leonard Gordon Goodman (born 25 April 1944) is an English professional ballroom dancer, dance judge, and coach. He has appeared as head judge on the television dance programmes ''Strictly Come Dancing'', a programme where various celebrities c ...

returned to the show as judges, while

Tom Bergeron Thomas Raymond Bergeron (born May 6, 1955) is an American television personality, game show host, comedian and actor, best known for hosting ''Hollywood Squares'' from 1998 to 2004, ''America's Funniest Home Videos'' from 2001 to 2015, and ''Danci ...

and

Brooke Burke Brooke Lisa Burke (born September 8, 1971) is an American television personality, fitness personality, author, actress, and businesswoman. She is known for hosting the E! Network travel show ''Wild On!'' (1999–2002), CBS' ''Rock Star'' (20 ...

returned as co-hosts.

Scoring charts

The highest score each week is indicated in . The lowest score each week is indicated in . ;Notes * : This was the lowest score of the week. * : This was the highest score of the week. * : This couple finished in first place. * : This couple finished in second place. * : This couple finished in third place. * : This couple was eliminated.

Highest and lowest scoring performances

The highest and lowest performances in each dance according to the judges' 30-point scale are as follows.

Couples' highest and lowest scoring dances

Scores are based upon a potential 30-point maximum.

Weekly scores

''Individual judges' scores in the charts below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right:

.''

Week 1: First Dances

The couples danced either the

cha-cha-cha Cha cha cha may refer to: * ''Cha-cha-chá'' (music), a style of Cuban dance music * Cha-cha-cha (dance), a Latin American dance accompanying the music Film and television * ''Cha Cha Cha'' (film), a 2013 Italian crime film * ''Cha Cha Cha'' ...

foxtrot The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a tim ...

. Couples are listed in the order they performed.

Week 2: First Elimination

The couples danced either the jive or

quickstep The quickstep is a light-hearted dance of the standard ballroom dances. The movement of the dance is fast and powerfully flowing and sprinkled with syncopations. The upbeat melodies that quickstep is danced to make it suitable for both formal a ...

. Couples are listed in the order they performed.

Week 3: Personal Story Week

The couples performed one unlearned dance. The

rumba The term rumba may refer to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, "rumba" was used as a synonym for "party" in northern Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba ...

samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...

, and

paso doble Pasodoble (Spanish language, Spanish: ''double step'') is a fast-paced Spanish military march used by infantry troops. Its speed allowed troops to give 120 steps per minute (double the average of a regular unit, hence its name). This military ...

were introduced. Couples are listed in the order they performed.

Week 4: Classical Week

The couples performed one unlearned dance. The

Viennese waltz Viennese waltz (german: Wiener Walzer) is a genre of ballroom dance. At least four different meanings are recognized. In the historically first sense, the name may refer to several versions of the waltz, including the earliest waltzes done in b ...

was introduced. Couples are listed in the order they performed.

Week 5: American Week

The couples performed one unlearned dance. Couples are listed in the order they performed.

Week 6: Guilty Pleasure Week

The couples performed one unlearned dance. Couples are listed in the order they performed.

Week 7: Ballroom Greats Week

''Individual judges scores in the chart below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right:

Donnie Burns Donnie Burns MBE was born in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland in 1959, where he attended Holy Cross High School. He is a Scottish professional ballroom dancer, specialising in Latin dance. He and his former partner Gaynor Fairweather were ...

, Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli.'' The six couples were divided into two teams to perform a cha-cha-cha team dance, and each couple also performed one unlearned dance. Couples are listed in the order they performed.

Week 8: Instant Choreography Week

Each couple performed two dances. The

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...

and

Argentine tango Argentine tango is a musical genre and accompanying social dance originating at the end of the 19th century in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. It typically has a or rhythmic time signature, and two or three parts repeating in patterns such as AB ...

were introduced. Couples are listed in the order they performed.

Week 9: Semifinals

Each couple performed two unlearned dances, plus competed in a "winner takes all" cha-cha-cha dance competition. Two couples faced off against each other, with the winners from each match competing against each other for fifteen bonus points. Couples are listed in the order they performed.

Week 10: Finals

;Night 1 ;Night 2

Dance chart

The celebrities and professional partners danced one of these routines for each corresponding week: * Week 1 (First Dances): One unlearned dance (cha-cha-cha or foxtrot) * Week 2 (First Elimination): One unlearned dance (jive or quickstep) * Week 3 (Personal Story Week): One unlearned dance * Week 4 (Classical Week): One unlearned dance * Week 5 (American Week): One unlearned dance * Week 6 (Guilty Pleasure Week): One unlearned dance * Week 7 (Ballroom Greats Week): One unlearned dance & team dances * Week 8 (Instant Choreography Week): One unlearned dance & instant dance * Week 9 (Semifinals): Two unlearned dances & cha-cha-cha dance-off * Week 10 (Finals, Night 1): Judge's choice dance & freestyle * Week 10 (Finals, Night 2): Favorite dance of the season ;Notes * : This was the highest scoring dance of the week. * : This was the lowest scoring dance of the week. * : This couple gained bonus points for winning this dance-off. * : This couple gained no bonus points for losing this dance-off. * : This couple danced, but received no scores.

Ratings

Season 12 was one of the most watched seasons. Numerous episodes were the most watched show in the USA for the week. The show tied with ''

Modern Family ''Modern Family'' is an American family sitcom television series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. It ran for 11 seasons, from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. It follows the lives of thr ...

'', a sitcom which also airs on

, for the season's No. 5 spot in the age 18–49 demographic of viewers, and placed at No. 3 on the rankings of the overall season.

References

External links

* {{Dancing with the Stars (United States) Dancing with the Stars (American TV series) 2011 American television seasons