The upcoming Dancing With The Stars line-up includes some interesting personalities—think Carson Kressley, Chaz Bono and Rob Kardashian—but whether or not they can dazzle on the dance floor is what Karina Smirnoff really cares about.

In an exclusive interview with HollywoodLife.com, pro dancer Karina—who is paired up with All My Children‘s  J.R. Martinez, says, “There are a lot of great characters and you never know who is going to be able to dance.”

So who does Karina think will be her and J.R.’s strongest competition? “So far, right now, I would say we are our biggest competition!”

For the upcoming season of Dancing With The Stars, Karina’s engaging her fans: As part of Fashion’s Night Out, the bride-to-be—she’s engaged to baseball player Brad Penney and they’re planning to marry in January—will host a party at Robbins Brothers jewelry store in Mission Viejo, Calif. Thursday night with designer Simon G. The event is open to the public, and fans can meet her, get an autograph—and enter to win a pair of tickets to Dancing With The Stars!

Tonight’s event is up Karina’s alley, considering Robbins Brothers dubs itself “The Engagement Ring Store.” So how far ahead is Karina in terms of wedding planning? “I would say I am right where I should be,” she tells HollywoodLife.com. “My manager/maid-of-honor has been organizing a lot of it. She consults me and then makes it happen.”

And Karina says she’s as calm as ever, and hasn’t gone into ‘bridezilla’ mode. “I don’t think anyone would consider me a ‘bridezilla,’” she says. “As long as I know everything is being handled, I’m pretty easy to deal with!”

— David Caplan