Season eleven 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 September 20, 2010, 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. Several changes were introduced this season, including an "Acoustic Week," in which couples performed either 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 ...

or the

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 ...

while the audience was brought closer to the dance floor which was elevated and made circular. Contestants from previous seasons also came back as guest judges when the current contestants attempted re-created memorable routines in the 200th episode. These guest judges were

Hélio Castroneves Hélio Castroneves (; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He has won the Indianapolis 500 a record-equalling four times: in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2021. He won the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona wit ...

Kelly Osbourne Kelly Michelle Lee Osbourne (born 27 October 1984) is an English television personality, singer, actress, model, and fashion designer. The daughter of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, she appeared on the reality show ''The Osbournes'' (2002–2005) w ...

Emmitt Smith Emmitt James Smith III (born May 15, 1969) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys. Among other accolades, he is the lea ...

Drew Lachey Andrew John Lachey (born August 8, 1976) is an American singer and actor. He is known as a member of 98 Degrees, the winner of the second season of ''Dancing with the Stars'', and the younger brother of Nick Lachey. Early years Drew Lachey was ...

Gilles Marini Gilles Marini (; born 26 January 1976) is a French actor known for his roles in the film ''Sex and the City'', and in the American television shows '' Brothers & Sisters'', '' Switched at Birth'' and ''Devious Maids''. He was also the runner-up i ...

, and

Mel B Melanie Janine Brown (born 29 May 1975), commonly known as Melanie B or Mel B, is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the girl group Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Sc ...

Kristi Yamaguchi Kristine Tsuya Yamaguchi (born July 12, 1971) is an American former figure skater. In ladies' singles, Yamaguchi is the 1992 Olympic champion, a two-time World champion (1991 and 1992), and the 1992 U.S. champion. In 1992, she became the first ...

and

Apolo Ohno Apolo Anton Ohno (; born May 22, 1982) is an American retired short track speed skating competitor and an eight-time medalist (two gold, two silver, four bronze) in the Winter Olympics. Ohno is the most decorated American at the Winter Olympics ...

also served as team captains for team dances. There was also a week dubbed "Instant Choreography," in which the couples practiced their routines for a week, but only received the music for their Latin dances 45 minutes before their live performances. Actress

Jennifer Grey Jennifer Grey (born March 26, 1960) is an American actress. She made her acting debut with the film ''Reckless'' (1984), and had her breakthrough with the teen comedy film '' Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' (1986). She subsequently earned worldwide ...

and

Derek Hough Derek Bruce Hough (; born May 17, 1985) is an American professional Latin and ballroom dancer, choreographer, actor and singer. From 2007 to 2016, Hough was a professional dancer on the ABC dance competition series ''Dancing with the Stars'', w ...

were crowned the champions, while actor

Kyle Massey Kyle Orlando Massey (born August 28, 1991), also known mononymously as Massey, is an American actor. He starred in the Disney Channel sitcoms ''That's So Raven'' and its spin-off ''Cory in the House'', in which he played Cory Baxter. Massey st ...

and

Lacey Schwimmer Lacey Mae Schwimmer (born June 28, 1988) is an American ballroom dancer and singer. She is best known as a fourth place finalist of the third season of ''So You Think You Can Dance''. She is the daughter of noted dancer Buddy Schwimmer, as well ...

finished second, and

Bristol Palin Bristol Sheeran Marie Palin (born October 18, 1990) is an American public speaker, reality television personality, and real estate agent. She is the oldest daughter and second of five children of Todd and Sarah Palin. Palin competed in the fal ...

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

The cast was announced during the August 30 episode of '' Bachelor Pad'' during a live press conference that included a Q&A session with host

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 co-host

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 ...

and the new cast. There were twelve celebrity cast members this season. The pairs were announced on September 1; however,

and

were announced as a couple the day before by way of a ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...

'' interview. This was the first season to feature no new professional dancers, as each of the twelve pros had appeared on at least one previous season. ;Future appearances Bristol Palin returned for the All-Stars season, where she was again paired with Mark Ballas.

Host and judges

and

returned as co-hosts, while

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 as judges.

Scoring charts

The highest score each week is indicated in . The lowest score each week is indicated in . ;Notes * : Each couple each couple received two scores from the judges this week: one for technical and one for performance. * : 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:

.''