damian whitewood

The Dancing with the Stars 2010 pairings were announced this morning on Good Morning America, and joining the mix as a professional dancer for the upcoming tenth season
is Broadway star Damian Whitewood. He will make his Ballroom debut on the arm of 42-year old former Baywatch Babe, model and activist Pamela Anderson when DWTS premieres on March 22 at 8 PM ET/PT on ABC.

Damian Whitewood gained notoriety by appearing in the Broadway hit dance revue Burn the Floor. According to the show's official website, Burn the Floor features international style ballroom dancing, and all of the participating dancers have a strong competitive dance background. Viewers can expect newcomer Whitewood to be strong in all forms of ballroom and Latin dance, including the waltz, foxtrot, viennese waltz, tango, quickstep, cha cha, salsa, paso doble, rumba and jive. In other words, Australian native Damian Whitewood knows his stuff.

Curious fans can see a photo of a well-muscled Whitewood by checking out his Facebook profile here.

Returning to the DWTS cast after a long absence is Ashly Costa (formerly DelGrosso). The now 27-year old wife and mother of two young sons will make her return alongside astronaut Buzz Aldin. At age 80, Aldrin is the oldest member of the DWTS season 10 cast by a whopping 38 years.

Other than the Damian Whitewood - Pamela Anderson and Ashly Costa - Buzz Aldrin match-ups, other Dancing with the Stars 2010 pairings include Olympic gold medalist Evan Lysacek and Anna Trebunskaya; ESPN sportscaster Erin Andrews and Maksim Chmerkovskiy; NFL wide receiver Chad Ochocinco and Cheryl Burke; actress Shannen Doherty and Mark Ballas; Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger and Derek Hough; Bachelor star Jake Pavelka and Chelsie Hightower; Jon & Kate Plus 8 mom and star Kate Gosselin and Tony Dovolani; comedienne Niecy Nash and Louie van Amstel; and soap star Aiden Turner and Edyta Sliwinska.

Although Sliwinska has never won Dancing with the Stars, she holds the distinction of being the only pro dancer to appear in every season of the show's existence.