"Dancing With the Stars" is known for reaching for the "stars" of the reality TV genre (how else to explain Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino and Kate Gosselin's "DWTS" stints?), but here's a switcheroo: The show's professional dancers sometimes trade in their dancing shoes for their own reality TV fame.
Check out these "Dancing With the Stars" pros who've played the reality TV game outside of the ballroom.
Kym Johnson: "Celebrity Apprentice"
From the ballroom to the boardroom, two-time "DWTS" winner Kym Johnson has gone Down Under for the Australian version of "Celebrity Apprentice." According to MSN, the Aussie pro dancer is currently competing against 13 other stars to raise money for charity. Johnson's winnings will go to Merry Makers, a dancing program for the disabled. But if Kym doesn't hear the words "You're fired!" soon, it's possible that the "Apprentice" taping could conflict with the upcoming season of "Dancing With the Stars."Maksim Chmerkovskiy: "The Bachelor"
In 2010, "DWTS" bad boy Maksim Chmerkovskiy starred on the Ukrainian version of the reality dating series "The Bachelor." But the pro dancer didn't exactly love the experience of finding love on TV. He told People: "[It was] the hardest thing that I've ever done. If I knew then what I know now, I would never have signed up. I would do 'Dancing With the Stars' for the rest of my life before I do something like this ever again."
Maks also revealed that he didn't like how the women were lined up and chosen like "objects," saying the process made him feel like he was "back in high school." With an attitude like that, it's no surprise that Maks's final rose didn't pan out. A rep for the dancer told Access Hollywood, "Maks did not propose. He gave her a promise ring; it did not work out."
Chelsie Hightower and Louis Van Amstel: "Bachelor Pad"
"Dancing" pros Chelsie Hightower and Louis Van Amstel appeared on the first season of the ABC reality show "Bachelor Pad" to teach coupled contestants how to foxtrot and cha cha. (Fun fact: Future "DWTS" winner Melissa Rycroft appeared as a judge on this episode.) But while Louis's couple, Natalie Getz and David Good, eventually went on to win the "Bachelor Pad" jackpot, Chelsie's romantic foxtrot may have had a longer lasting impact: Her couple, Kiptyn Locke and Tenley Molzahn, are still an item three years later!Derek Hough and Mark Ballas: "Extreme Makeover Home Edition"
Can you say Sledgehammer Slide? In 2010, "DWTS" champs Derek Hough and Mark Ballas turned up on "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," but these blood brothers weren't wielding tools in the usual way. Instead, the pro dancers were on hand to support a dance program and a family desperately in need of new digs, and that meant a dancing demolition. "DWTS" alums Anna Trebunskaya, Tony Dovolani, and Chelsie Hightower also appeared in this episode.Cheryl Burke: Future "Bachelorette"?
There's been plenty of chatter about Cheryl Burke's desire to dole out rose boutonnieres on an upcoming season of "The Bachelorette." Last fall, the pro dancer confirmed the "Bachelorette" buzz and said that while there hasn't been a firm offer from producers yet, if she were to be asked to star on the show, she would "love to do it." If the dream date deal doesn't pan out, Burke's rep also told the New York Post that the two-time mirror ball winner is shopping her own reality TV series that "won't stray far from her roots.""Dancing With the Stars" Season 16 will premiere on Monday, 3/18 at 8 PM ET on ABC.
More from this contributor:
The all-stars shine on 'DWTS' season 15Some pro dancers may sit out 'Dancing With the Stars' season 16
Backstage at 'DWTS': Karina Smirnoff talks chemistry and that mid-dance slip
