Karina Smirnoff hotfoots it to Dancing With The Stars practice as Hugh Hefner promises 'unforgettable' Playboy cover

By Daily Mail Reporters


Ready to rumba: Karina Smirnoff arriving for Dancing With The Stars rehearsals in Los Angeles on Friday


Karina Smirnoff may be busy with rehearsals, but she will soon dazzle the world by storm with more than just sequins and samba.

The Dancing With The Stars professional is preparing to unveil her Playboy cover in the coming weeks, with magazine founder Hugh Hefner promising her shoot will be 'unforgettable'.

The 32-year-old dancing ace - who was a finalist in the show when she teamed up with Mario Lopez in season three - says she posed for Playboy to test her limits.


She is currently appearing on the U.S. series paired with Karate Kid star - Ralph Macchio - and was seen arriving for rehearsals on Friday.

Her fellow performers were also spotted arriving for practice at different times over the weekend.

Hefner spoke about his reason for wanting her in the top-shelf publication at his 85th birthday party at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas.
'I think it's obvious,' Hefner said.

Plenty of practice: Petra Nemcova and Chelsea Kane were spotted arriving for rehearsals over the weekend ahead of Monday night's show


'She has a very good following from the show and the pictorial is unforgettable.'

Aside from flying around the ballroom on Dancing with the Stars, she enjoys boxing, skydiving and shooting guns.

She previously dated Lopez after the pair were runners-up in the competition and was engaged for nine months to fellow pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

In October 2009, Smirnoff began dating baseball pitcher Brad Penny and the couple became engaged on October 4, 2010.

'I'm fearless and love the adrenaline rush,' Smirnoff told Playboy.

Ready for another round: Sugar Ray Leonard was also spotted outside the studio


In the pictorial the Ukrainian stunner wears little more than a few red ribbons and a sultry stare as the first Dancing pro to strip down for the magazine.

'Sexy is the confident energy a person produces,' she said.

'Sexy is the comfortable feeling of being who you are.'

It was claimed that producers were furious about her decision to be the first professional to pose nude for Playboy, however sources close to the star insist otherwise.

An insider told People magazine: 'They did know ahead of time and they still gave her one of the best pairings.'



source:dailymail