LAST NIGHT on Can’t Stop Dancing on RTÉ2 presenter Bláthnaid Treacy finally revealed the celebrity and professional dancer pairings.
The long-awaited announcement comes days before the return of the hit series with the first live show airing this Sunday, 6.30pm on RTÉ One.
Among the contestants is former London Irish scrum-half and longtime friend of The Irish Post Tomas O' Leary.
Tomas O' Leary pictured in his London Irish jersey and holding a copy of The Irish Post. (Picture: stock)The partnerships for the new series are as follows:
Marty Morrissey and Ksenia Zsikhotska
The GAA correspondent and commentator will be dancing with Ksenia.
Returning to the show for a second year, last year Ksenia danced with HomeTown singer Dayl Cronin. They reached the semi-final before being eliminated in the dance-off against actress Denise McCormack and her partner Ryan. Ksenia’s introduction to ballroom dancing was in the world famous Winter Gardens in Blackpool. Since then she has achieved many successes with her dancing partner Ryan McShane. They are the current UK and British Closed Latin Professional champions and also hold the Show Dance title.
(Picture: RTE)Jake Carter and Karen Byrne
Musician Jake will be dancing with Karen.
Karen Byrne won the hearts of the nation last year when she partnered Des Cahill all the way to the quarterfinals. An unlikely pair, Des and Karen made the public smile on a weekly basis with their routines, especially with the ‘Dessie Swim’ dance move in Week 4. Des and Karen made it all the way to Week 10, before eventually losing in the dance-off to Aoibhín Garrihy and her partner Vitali. Karen, from Dublin, started dancing at the age of six and now runs one of Ireland's biggest and most successful dance schools. She still competes worldwide representing Ireland in all the major competitions around the world.
Erin McGregor and Ryan McShane
Former fitness model Erin will be partnered with Ryan.
The first series of DWTS saw Ryan reach the final with his celeb partner, actress Denise McCormack, and they were the only couple to earn three perfect scores of 30 in the final. They eventually finished runners-up to GAA player Aidan O’Mahony and his partner, Valeria. During last year’s series of DWTS Ryan started dating Thalia Heffernan and the two are still together. With his dance partner Ksenia Zsikhotska he is now the UK and British Latin Professional Champion and British Show Dance Champions.
Robert Heffernan and Emily Barker
Recently-crowned Athlete of the Year Robert will take to the floor with Emily.
Emily was unlucky in last year’s competition when she and her celeb partner Big Brother contestant Hughie Maughan became the first couple to be eliminated from the show. Emily began her dancing career at the age of seven, specialising in Latin and Ballroom. She has most recently toured with former Strictly winners Jay McGuinness and Louis Smith and another with Strictly professional Giovanni Pernice. In 2010, Emily was crowned Ballroom and Latin Junior Champion and has represented the UK in many World and European Championships.
Maia Dunphy and Robert Rowiński
Broadcaster and author Maia is paired with Robert.
Brand new to the show this year, Robert has competed in five series of the Polish equivalent of DWTS, winning the final series. Robert began dancing at the age of seven. Throughout his twenty-five year dance career Robert has been Polish and Estonian National finalist, placed second at the 2008 British Closed Championships, won the 2012 Polish National Championships in both Salsa and Showdance, and placed fourth at the International Championships the same year.
(Picture: RTE)Bernard O’Shea and Valeria Milova
Comedian and broadcaster Bernard will be dancing with last year’s winning pro-dancer Valeria.
Looking to make it two-in-a-row, DWTS champion Valeria is back. Last year she and her partner, GAA player Aidan O’Mahony, made it all the way to the final and took home the glitter ball trophy. Can she repeat her success? Valeria was born in Estonia and started dancing at the age of eight. She is a former Estonian hip-hop dancing champion and has experience in tap and jazz but specialises in Latin. She represented her country at the World and European Latin-American Championships, where she was the finalist of the IDSF Amateur European Union Latin Championship and the finalist of the WDSF World Showdance Latin Championship in 2015. Valeria took the silver medal in the Dancing with the Stars project in Europe and was invited as a choreographer and special guest performer on the second season of the same project.
(Picture: RTE)Anna Geary and Kai Widdrington
Cork's All-Ireland winning camogie captain and former Rose of Tralee Anna will be partnering with Kai.
Last year Kai danced with Katherine Lynch. They made it all the way to Week 9 when they lost their dance-off against Dayl Cronin and his partner Ksenia. In 2012 Kai appeared in ITV's Britain’s Got Talent and managed to reach the final with his partner Natalia. Kai reappeared on Britain’s Got Talent two years later with the Latin American super-group, Kings & Queens, and they reached the semi-finals of the show. In 2014, Kai moved away from the competitive world of dancing and joined the Ballroom and Latin Dance company, 'Burn The Floor' where he toured the world.
Tomás O’Leary and Giulia Dotta
Grand Slam winning scrum-half and former Munster rugby player Tomás will partner with Giulia.
Last year, Giulia partnered comedian Des Bishop all the way to his shock elimination in Week 6. From a very young age Giulia developed an interest for sports and art. She has appeared on So You Think You Can Dance Australia, Dancing with the Stars Australia and 2005 Blackpool edition of Strictly Come Dancing.
Norah Casey and Curtis Pritchard
Entrepreneur Norah will be joining Curtis on the dancefloor.
Last year, Curtis was paired with model Thalia Heffernan. The couple found themselves eliminated after their Jive in Week 4. Curtis began his dancing career at the tender age of 11 following in the footsteps of his professional dancer father. His brother AJ recently competed in Strictly Come Dancing. Curtis became a Ballroom and Latin Junior and Youth Champion and represented The UK in many World and European Championships. A youth finalist in all major competitions in the UK, Curtis, in 2014, decided to retire from the competitive world of dance, believing his vocation was stage and entertainment, he enrolled in acting classes and vocal training alongside his dance training to venture on a path to become a proud member of Burn the Floor.
Deirdre O’Kane and John Edward Nolan
Award-winning actor and comedian and presenter Deirdre will join Kilkenny dancer John.
Last year, John was paired up with RTÉ reporter Teresa Mannion. Together, they reached Week 8 of the competition before they were eliminated in the first dance-off against Denise McCormack and her professional partner, Ryan. John has been dancing since he could walk and has represented Ireland at World and European Championships and is Irish Champion in Ballroom and Showdance.
Alannah Berine and Vitali Kozmin
Britain and Ireland’s Next Top Model finalist Alannah will join Vitali on the dance floor.
Vitali made it all the way to the final last year with his partner Aoibhín Garrihy. The couple were favourites throughout the competition and even managed to score the first ever 10 in the competition for their Jive. From Estonia, Vitali started dancing at the age of eight. He represented Estonia in World and European Latin-American Championships and is a former National Champion and finalist of many international championships. He was the winner of ‘Dancing with the Stars Project’ in Europe in 2012 and a group-dance choreographer on the same project. He was a finalist of WDSF World Showdance Latin Championship in 2015, which took place in Vienna, Austria.
Amanda Byram and Nicky Byrne will return once again to present the new series. Airing on RTÉ One for 12 weeks from 6.30pm Sunday 7th January, a total of 11 celebrities will pair up with their professional dancing partners as they step out of their comfort zones and onto the dancefloor, each hoping to claim the much-coveted glitter ball trophy at the end of the series.
Each pairing will have a different dancing genre to master every week from the paso doble to the waltz and they’ll have just seven days to perfect their routine before performing live to the nation.
Also returning this year is our expert panel of judges - including Brian Redmond, Loraine Barry and Julian Benson. Once again the celebrities and their dancers will be scored by the judges and the viewing public at home.
And if that’s not enough for dancing fans out there, Can’t Stop Dancing, the preview show for Dancing with the Stars hosted by Bláthnaid Treacy will air each Thursday from 4th January at 9.30pm on RTÉ2.
Each week Can’t Stop Dancing will go behind the scenes to capture all the glitz, glamour and gossip backstage and get the low down from the judges, the professional dancers, and the stars.
