Looks like I was right about my prediction that Mark Ballas Jr will be with Shawn Johnson. Check out these pictures of Mark and Shawn at their first Dancing with the Stars practice:
      
 

Maks also talked about Shawn Johnson being on the show along with pleading the fifth about Julianne Hough paired with Chuck Wicks:

TVGuide.com: What sort of unique challenges face Shawn Johnson, who is just 4-foot-10?
Chmerkovskiy: I actually think her main challenge is that she’s so young [age 17] in a big girl’s world, so to speak. Her challenge will be to spice things up if the judges say that she’s too quiet and calm. But we all saw her at the Olympics — she’s amazing and focused and determined. A very hard worker.

TVGuide.com: She could break into a tumbling pass in the middle of a Paso Doble!
Chmerkovskiy: Oh, she could do a cha-cha on her hands! We’re kind of guessing that she’ll be paired up with Mark [Ballas], and he’s crazy with the [choreography].

TVGuide.com: Some are speculating that dancing as a team could be tough on Julianne Hough and Chuck Wicks, her country singer-boyfriend. But I think if DWTS has shown us anything, it’s that it cultivates romance. They could come out of this stronger.
Chmerkovskiy: I don’t want to start the season with a usual Maks rant, so I’m going to plead the fifth on that pairing!

Maks is great. Probably the best interview on the show. Anyone have a connection with Maks? I’d love to interview him for this blog.

Maks told People these 2 little nuggets:

“Planning the proposal was the most nerve-wracking thing of my life,” Chmerkovskiy, 29, tells People magazine.

The couple plans to wed in late 2009 and Chmerkovskiy said the they definitely are looking forward to starting a family. “Our kids would be rock stars,” he told People. “They’re going to be like royalty.”

Finally, check out this short video from the Dancing with the Stars tour finale in Philly. Derek (and other dancers) pulls a lucky fan out of the crowd for a little spin spin and dip on the dance floor.

While we wait to hear the official Dancing with the Stars cast announcement on Sunday and we take a break from the Dancing with the Stars rumors, here’s a bunch of videos from the Dancing with the Stars tour. Still 4 or 5 DWTS tour stops left.

Dancing With The Stars professional Group Dance

Maurice Greene “Mo” Dance

Lance Bass singing Bye Bye Bye

Toni Braxton, Alec Mazo, Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer

I found this video on Youtube which included both video from the Dancing with the Stars tour and also pictures. Not the best quality video, but still entertaining to watch.

You can still go and Buy Tickets to see the Dancing with the Stars tour live.

I’ve had a ton of interest in my post about the Dancing with the Stars tour. There only about half way through the tour, so you can still get tickets to see some of the best Dancing with the Stars dancers live.

Recently I had someone post a comment about how much they enjoyed the Dancing with the Stars tour visit to Rosemont, IL and I asked her to write a guest post about the experience. Here’s Mary’s description of the Dancing with the Stars tour.

Hello everyone!

I am Mary and I attended the Dancing with the Stars Live Tour at the Allstate Arena on January 9th, 2009. When I got to the Allstate Arena, I was wearing my ” Maksim” outfit made up of a grey sweat shirt and black sweatpants with Maksim written all over it. I saw one girl with a hot pink poster that said I Love Lance!

My mom, sister, and I went to the tour. My mom bought my sister and I a shirt that cost $30 and my sisters cost $35. We found our section, which was 210. Our tickets were $50 each, which wasn’t bad. I thought that the seats would be ok, but they were pretty good. We saw everything.

The stage was really cool and it was smaller than I thought. The show started 20 minutes late and I was kind of mad. There were commercials and a local dance competition between Chicago couples. That was kind of cool.

Then the show started and each dancer was introduced and all I heard was screaming. I love Maksim and when he was introduced, I screamed so loud! lol The dances were really upbeat and the different kinds of music was amazing. Serious, aggressive, and romantic music. The crowd favored Cheryl Burke, Lance Bass, and Maksim C.

Toni Braxton sang two of her songs and the dancers danced to them. There was a 20 minute break. We walked around and talked to a couple of coppers who we know. The show started again and the dances got even better. The focus was on everyone more than individuals. The final group dance was everything I expected and then I was sad to see it end.

I would definitely rate the DWTS Live Tour a 10, because the dancers were so energetic and the crowd truly enjoyed the experience of seeing them dance live. Afterwords, my mom, sister, and I went downstairs and waited in the back for the dancers and celebities to come out and sign autographs. I thought I recognized Lacey Schwimmer with out her tall heels and her colorful hair extensions, and I said Lacey and she gave me a hug. I asked her to sign an autograph and she said sure, sweetie. Then she took a picture with my sister and I. I said thank you and she gave me another hug. She was so nice and approachable. She was the nicest one! lol

We also saw Lance Bass, Maurice Green, Eytda S. with a robe and boots on, and Alec Mazo. We were waiting to see if Maksim would come out ,but the cops said you guys have to go home. I was so mad, because we paid for tickets and I think that we have a right to wait for the dancer to come out and sign a couple of autographs. It wasn’t worth fighting with cops, so we just left. The tour was amazing and If Maksim is on the next season of DWTS, we will for sure attend the tour again. Amazing show! Great job to all of the dancers and the band was amazing.

Thanks for the writeup Mary. If anyone else has attended the Dancing with the Stars tour, I’d love to have you do a writeup of your experience as well.

The 2008 Dancing with the Stars Tour dates and locations have been announced. You can purchase tickets to the show on Ticketmaster.

The following Dancers and professionals are planning to be on tour: Lance Bass, Toni Braxton, Maurice Greene, Marlee Matlin, Mark Ballas, Cheryl Burke, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Derek Hough, Kym Johnson, Alec Mazo, Fabian Sanchez, Lacey Schwimmer, Edyta Sliwinska, and Karina Smirnoff.

December 2008
17 – San Diego, CA – San Diego Sports Arena – Buy Tickets Online
18 – Ontario, CA – Citizens Business Bank Arena – Buy Tickets Online
19 – San Jose, CA – HP Pavilion – Buy Tickets Online
21 – Reno, NV – Reno Events Center – Buy Tickets Online
22 – Sacramento, CA – ARCO Arena – Buy Tickets Online
27 – Los Angeles, CA – Staples Center – Buy Tickets Online
28 – Glendale, AZ – Jobing.com Arena – Buy Tickets Online
29 – Las Vegas, NV – Orleans Arena – Buy Tickets Online
30 – Salt Lake City, UT – E Center – Buy Tickets Online

January 2009
2 – Tulsa, OK – BOK Center – Buy Tickets Online
4 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center – Buy Tickets Online
5 – San Antonio, TX AT&T Center – Buy Tickets Online
7 – Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center – Buy Tickets Online
8 – Moline, IL – i wireless Center – Buy Tickets Online
9 – Rosemont, IL – Allstate Arena – Buy Tickets Online
11 – Detroit, MI – Joe Louis Arena – Buy Tickets Online
12 – Toronto, Ontario – Air Canada Centre – Buy Tickets Online
13 – Cleveland, OH – Wolstein Center – Buy Tickets Online
15 – Indianapolis, IN – Conseco Fieldhouse – Buy Tickets Online
16 – St. Louis, MO – Scottrade Center – Buy Tickets Online
17 – Cincinnati, OH – US Bank Arena – Buy Tickets Online
18 – Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena – Buy Tickets Online
20 – Nashville, TN – Sommet Center – Buy Tickets Online
22 – Tampa, FL – St. Pete Times Forum – Buy Tickets Online
23 – Sunrise, FL – BankAtlantic Center – Buy Tickets Online
24 – Orlando, FL – Amway Arena – Buy Tickets Online
25 – Atlanta, GA – Gwinnett Center – Buy Tickets Online
27 – Greensboro, NC – Greensboro Coliseum – Buy Tickets Online
28 – Raleigh, NC – RBC Center – Buy Tickets Online
29 – Washington, DC – Verizon Center – Buy Tickets Online
30, 31 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena – Buy Tickets Online

February 2009
2 – Providence, RI – Dunkin Donuts Center – Buy Tickets Online
3 – Wilkes Barre, PA – Wachovia Arena – Buy Tickets Online
4 – Uniondale, NY – Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum – Buy Tickets Online
6 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center – Buy Tickets Online
7 – Atlantic City, NJ – Boardwalk Hall – Buy Tickets Online
8 – Philadelphia, PA – Wachovia Center – Buy Tickets Online

If you are planning to attend the Dancing with the Stars tour, let us know in the comments. We’d love to have you post your experience going to the tour and any pictures you might take from the tour.