Edyta Sliwinska quits "DancingWithTheStars"

Edyta Sliwinska quits 'Dancing With the Stars', wants to finish school and start family

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Posted by Corinne Heller at 01:06:20 PM PDT

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Read more: 'Dancing With the Stars', Aiden Turner, Edyta Sliwinska

Edyta Sliwinska says she will not return to Dancing With the Stars for its upcoming 11th season, whose cast was recently announced and which includes Bristol Palin, after being part of the ballroom dancing competition series since it began in 2005.

"After 10 seasons I felt like it's time to think about my future," Sliwinska, a 29-year-old Polish-born professional dancer, said on her Facebook page. "I'm pursuing my education and looking forward to other projects that perhaps you will hear about, but my main goal is to finish my degree and start building my family."

In 2007, Sliwinska, who is also a UCLA media and communication studies student, married Alec Mazo, a former Dancing With the Stars cast member who won the show's debut season with Kelly Monaco.

The ABC series Dancing With the Stars pairs professional dancers with celebrities and fans vote for their favorite couples to proceed in the competition. In the past, Sliwinska has danced with stars such as television personality George Hamilton and his son Ashley, NFL star Lawrence Taylor and Joey Lawrence, a 1990s teen idol and star of new ABC Family sitcom Melissa and Joey.

"The show will not be there for me forever and I do not want to depend every season on the producer’s decision about next half a year of my life," said Sliwinska, who has been dancing since she was 10. "I want to start building a foundation for the future and I felt that the show was limiting me."

During the previous 10th season of Dancing With the Stars, which ended in May, Sliwinska and soap actorAiden Turner became the third couple to be eliminated from the show. She and NFl player Jason Taylor came in second in 2008.

The professional dancers of season 11 are set to be revealed on Good Morning America on Wednesday. The couples are set to dance either the Viennese Waltz or the Cha Cha on the first episode, which airs on September 20. One pair is expected to go home the following day during the results show, which will feature performances from rock bands Santana and Daughtry.

Check out who is in the cast of season 11 of Dancing With the Stars below.