Dancing with the Stars Season 18 Cast Announced

ABC has revealed the cast for season 18 of Dancing with the Stars, as well as a new twist called The Switch Up. This season, viewers will be given the chance to change pro/celebrity pairings, with all couples required to switch partners at one point. It’s the first time the show will be forcing partner switches on its celebrity contestants; it’s also the latest in a series of off-season changes the network has made to the venerable reality series, which has struggled in the ratings since the premiere of The Voice. In addition to The Switch Up, Dancing will go into season 18 with a new co-host (Erin Andrews) and a new musical director (Ray Chew) after having make its first major alterations during season 17.

Listed below, in alphabetical order, are the 12 celebrities who will be vying for the mirrorball trophy, along with the names of their initial partners.

Former hockey player/model/activist Sean Avery (partner: Karina Smirnoff)
Actress/author Candace Cameron Bure (partner: Mark Ballas)
The Price is Right host Drew Carey (partner: Cheryl Burke)
Olympic gold medalist Meryl Davis (partner: Maksim Chmerkovskiy)
Real Housewives of Atlanta star Nene Leakes (partner: Tony Dovolani)
Big Time Rush alum James Maslow (partner: Peta Murgatroyd)
Actress/author Danica McKellar (partner: Valentin Chmerkovskiy)
Record-breaking swimmer Diana Nyad (partner: Henry Byalikov)
Paralympian Amy Purdy (partner: Derek Hough)
Singer Cody Simpson (partner: Witney Carson)
Olympic gold medalist Charlie White (partner: Sharna Burgess)
Actor Billy Dee Williams (partner: Emma Slater)

Season 18 of Dancing with the Stars is set to premiere Monday, March 17th at 8:00 on ABC.

What do you think about the Dancing with the Stars cast? Who could be the favorite going into the competition? Should the show make additional changes apart from changing the band and co-host?