Why Isn't Artem Competing On 'DWTS' This Season?

Dancing With the Stars Season 21 is going to be a whopper of a season, that is, if you're a fan of the Backstreet Boys or have ever been to The Lady & Sons, Paula Deen's Savannah-based restaurant. But besides all of the celebrity talent — in addition to Nick Carter and Paula Deen, DWTS Season 21 features a star-filled lineup that includes Bindi Irwin, Andy Grammer, Alexa and Carlos PenaVega, and many more — many fan favorite pro dancers are returning as well, like Derek Hough, Witney Carlson, Val Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff. As Season 21 kicks off on Sept. 14, fans will notice that dancer Artem Chigvintsev will not be competing on DWTS this season. How come?

Though neither ABC or Chigvintsev have yet to give a statement with the official reason, the Russian-American dancer, who competed with Patti LaBelle last season, posted a rather cryptic and vague statement on Instagram last week, stating that, "Due to last minute casting changes, I will not be competing with a celeb this season. But don't worry, I will still be competing with the pros in the ballroom."

Since he'll still be dancing this season, it's clear that Chigvintsev (fortunately!) hasn't suffered an injury. Whatever the case may be, hopefully he will shed some light on the situation (and explain just how those "casting changes" kept him from competing) once the show starts up. And in any event, it seems like he's living up to his word, already sharing photos with DWTS contestants like Mr. Nick Carter:

...which, truth be told, is almost too many good-looking men in one photo than should be allowed on Instagram. So even though it's a serious bummer for Chigvintsev fans that he won't have a chance to score the beloved mirror ball trophy this season, it's entirely kickass that he'll still get a chance to tear it up on the dance floor. I'm pretty positive that there are hordes of people out there just happy that Chigvintsev's perfectly chiseled face (and even more perfectly chiseled body) will still be gracing our television sets every week.

And hey, there's always Season 22.