DwtS Offseason Update: 11-29-06

Dancing with the Stars 3 may be over, but there's been plenty of news and rumors swirling about the DwtS Tour and Season 4.

Tour News
The tour lineup has changed once again. Maksim Chmerkovskiy decided over the weekend to pull out of the tour, in order to spend more time working with his students. Fans who purchased VIP tickets from I Love All Access and no longer wish to attend can contact the company for a refund.

Joey McIntyre will be using the DwtS tour appearances to promote his new album, which will be available at each performance. He'll be singing a couple of numbers, as well as dancing with his partner, Kym Johnson.

Season 4 Rumors
One season barely ends, and rumors about possible participants for the next begin. Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson has been lobbying producers for a spot in the Season 4 cast.

Producers have extended an offer to Jennifer Aniston to be a contestant, and she's reportedly considering the offer. She would certainly be the biggest celebrity ever to compete on the show. And if DwtS wants to turn the season into a mini-Friends reunion, they can get David Schwimmer, too. Unless there's some secret plan to make a sequel to The Pallbearer, that guy's not doing anything.

When DwtS 4 starts up in March, it will likely change nights to avoid going up against American Idol on Tuesdays.

Gossip
After spending Thanksgiving together, Mario Lopez & Karina Smirnoff left on Sunday for a Mexican vacation -- even though they still won't publicly admit that they're dating. Hopefully, they've at least admitted it to each other.

Other News
For some additional reading, check out this interview with the DwtS costume designers. Thanks to their quick thinking, they were able to avert a Janet Jackson-like moment for Willa Ford on her final night of competition.

Also, an arts critic at Slate offers some interesting opinions on the quality of the dancing on DwtS.