'Dancing With The Stars' couples to introduce the 'fusion dance'

LOS ANGELES

For fusion week, Apolo Anton Ohno and Karina Smirnoff will do a mix of the Cha Cha and the Paso Doble.

Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke will tackle a Rumba-Samba mix.

Meanwhile, Gilles Marini and Peta Murgatroy will have to nail an Argentine Tango and Samba combination, which the couple finds a bit confusing.

"I was a bit perplexed," said Marini. "I was very worried because I wanted to do a pure complete Argentine Tango dance and with this fusion thing I didn't really know what it's going to be."

Kelly Monaco and Val Chmerkovskiy hope to amaze the judges and audience with their fusion of Foxtrot and the Cha Cha.

"I think it'll be fun. I tend to want to mix it up during the dance anyway," said Monaco. "Now, we'll have an excuse to do so."

Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani will bring a Tango and Cha Cha blend to the dance floor.

Shawn Johnson's mix is the Tango and Paso Doble. Her other mix up: she'll be dancing with Mark Ballas while an injured Derek Hough sits out.

"I have no idea what to expect from this fusion thing," said Johnson. "I know Derek will be at every rehearsal, still choreographing everything and it will still be under his control. Mark is sort stepping in to do the movement. I'm interested to find out, that's for sure."

Fusion for Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy means the Quickstep and Samba.

"Look I'm confused about everything, so the fusion confusion was of great magnitude," said Alley.

There will also be a marathon segment in which the couples try to impress the judges for as long as they can. The couples will receive a sliding scale of points, with the top couple receiving 10 extra points.

The fusion edition of "Dancing With The Stars: All-Stars" begins at 8 p.m. on ABC7.

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