Cheryl Burke has been a Dancing With the Stars staple via the years — even incomes the coveted mirror ball trophy twice.
The California native, after a profitable profession as a aggressive ballroom dancer, joined the DWTS professional lineup in 2006 for season 2. Burke’s first season proved to be fortunate, as she and Drew Lachey finally received the competitors. The Dance Moms alum took residence her second trophy the subsequent 12 months, dancing with NFL star Emmitt Smith.
“Ballroom dancing is a technical sport. I think it’s important that [the judges] get the last final say because I think it’s important that everyone understands why [they give certain scores],” the choreographer wrote in a September 2019 weblog for Us Weekly about the competitors sequence amid frequent choose criticism. “If someone’s not technically sound or even close to being as good of a dancer as the other couple, they should be the ones going home.”
She added at the time: “If I were a judge, I think I’d probably be the same way [as Len Goodman] because we’re being told that we’re bringing this back to ballroom and then that separates everybody. I felt like every dance last season was a freestyle. As a choreographer and as a professional dancer, you don’t know what to follow. I know the rules from the beginning of the competition when I started almost 14 years ago.”
After securing two DWTS championships, Burke continued educating celebs to bounce on the then-ABC broadcast. She has partnered with the likes of Ian Ziering, Gilles Marini, Chad Ochocinco, Rob Kardashian, Jack Osbourne, Ryan Lochte, Drew Carey, Terrell Owens, AJ McLean and Cody Rigsby. Burke and Smith tried to recreate their season 3 win throughout season 15’s all-stars season however completed in fourth place as an alternative.
While the I Can Do That alum has discovered a number of lasting bonds in her previous partnerships, not all pairings had been seamless.
“My least favorite [partner] would be Ian Ziering. The fact that his name is not ‘ee-an’ and it’s ‘eye-an’ makes me want to throw up,” she stated throughout an April 2019 look on Matt Weiss and Theo Von’s “Allegedly” podcast, referring to the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum. “Think of spending time with that for, like, eight to 10 hours a day, seven days a week, for three months. It made me want to slit my wrists. I was, like, crying to the executives. I was like, ‘Is there any way to please just eliminate us?’ They’re like, ‘We can’t. We can’t do that.’ And I swear, every time I asked, we just kept going. We would last till the end.”
Burke has since apologized for her candid remarks, noting she ought to haven’t made a joke about suicide.
While Burke’s partnership with Ziering was rocky, she’s had higher luck with the Backstreet Boys singer and Sam Champion throughout seasons 30 and 31.
“With this season in particular, there’s peace along with the whole elimination process,” Burke completely instructed Us in October 2022 of dancing with the Good Morning America weatherman on DWTS season 31, the sequence’ first on Disney+. “Like, normally I’m a nervous, sweaty wreck, but with Sam, if I’m looking at the actual ability of all the celebrities? We are very blessed to still be in this competition, to be quite honest, and Sam knows that.”
Scroll under for Burke’s candid ideas about her expertise on DWTS:
Credit: Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
Everything Cheryl Burke Has Said About Her ‘DWTS’ Tenure Through the Years: Movement Is An ‘Essential Part of My Life’
Cheryl Burke has been a Dancing With the Stars staple via the years — even incomes the coveted mirror ball trophy twice.
The California native, after a profitable profession as a aggressive ballroom dancer, joined the DWTS professional lineup in 2006 for season 2. Burke’s first season proved to be fortunate, as she and Drew Lachey finally received the competitors. The Dance Moms alum took residence her second trophy the subsequent 12 months, dancing with NFL star Emmitt Smith.
“Ballroom dancing is a technical sport. I think it’s important that [the judges] get the last final say because I think it’s important that everyone understands why [they give certain scores],” the choreographer wrote in a September 2019 weblog for Us Weekly about the competitors sequence amid frequent choose criticism. “If someone’s not technically sound or even close to being as good of a dancer as the other couple, they should be the ones going home.”
She added at the time: “If I were a judge, I think I’d probably be the same way [as Len Goodman] because we’re being told that we’re bringing this back to ballroom and then that separates everybody. I felt like every dance last season was a freestyle. As a choreographer and as a professional dancer, you don’t know what to follow. I know the rules from the beginning of the competition when I started almost 14 years ago.”
After securing two DWTS championships, Burke continued educating celebs to bounce on the then-ABC broadcast. She has partnered with the likes of Ian Ziering, Gilles Marini, Chad Ochocinco, Rob Kardashian, Jack Osbourne, Ryan Lochte, Drew Carey, Terrell Owens, AJ McLean and Cody Rigsby. Burke and Smith tried to recreate their season 3 win throughout season 15’s all-stars season however completed in fourth place as an alternative.
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While the I Can Do That alum has discovered a number of lasting bonds in her previous partnerships, not all pairings had been seamless.
“My least favorite [partner] would be Ian Ziering. The fact that his name is not ‘ee-an’ and it’s ‘eye-an’ makes me want to throw up,” she stated throughout an April 2019 look on Matt Weiss and Theo Von’s “Allegedly” podcast, referring to the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum. “Think of spending time with that for, like, eight to 10 hours a day, seven days a week, for three months. It made me want to slit my wrists. I was, like, crying to the executives. I was like, ‘Is there any way to please just eliminate us?’ They’re like, ‘We can’t. We can’t do that.’ And I swear, every time I asked, we just kept going. We would last till the end.”
Burke has since apologized for her candid remarks, noting she ought to haven’t made a joke about suicide.
While Burke’s partnership with Ziering was rocky, she’s had higher luck with the Backstreet Boys singer and Sam Champion throughout seasons 30 and 31.
“With this season in particular, there’s peace along with the whole elimination process,” Burke completely instructed Us in October 2022 of dancing with the Good Morning America weatherman on DWTS season 31, the sequence’ first on Disney+. “Like, normally I’m a nervous, sweaty wreck, but with Sam, if I’m looking at the actual ability of all the celebrities? We are very blessed to still be in this competition, to be quite honest, and Sam knows that.”
Scroll under for Burke’s candid ideas about her expertise on DWTS:
Credit: Broadimage/Shutterstock
October 2022
As Burke competed on season 31, she’s been open a few potential DWTS retirement the following 12 months.
“I’m at a point in my life right now where I don’t know exactly what my future holds. I’m going through a transition not just personally, but also in my career, which has left me living in uncertainty for the first time in over a decade,” Burke — who break up from then-husband Matthew Lawrence that February — wrote in an essay for Us. “I’m trying to be OK with it instead of living in fear of the unknown. I know that dance and movement are an essential part of my life and mental health, but I’m ready to share these passions in new ways.”
Credit: Casey Flanigan/imageSPACE/Shutterstock
October 2022
“A lot of people have asked me if this is my last season. The answer to that question is likely yes, this is my last season — as a dancer that is,” Burke stated throughout an episode of her “Burke in the Game” podcast after her elimination with Champion, noting she can be all in favour of changing into a cohost or choose. “To have been a part of a show for 26 seasons, it is hard for me [to leave] … I always come back, because, I guess, it’s really hard to say goodbye to a show and to a family that I’ve only known here in Los Angeles.”
Credit: ABC/Andrew Eccles
October 2022
During season 31, Champion and Burke persistently earned scores close to the again of the pack — however she was pleased with their dances.
“Every season is a lot more challenging than the previous season,” the “Pretty Messed Up” podcast cohost instructed Us in October after the pair narrowly escaped elimination. “Everybody’s so talented. Everyone’s got their own thing. And Sam and I are just really happy to be here.”
Credit: Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
July 2022
“I have body dysmorphia because I’m a dancer,” the ballroom champion stated throughout an episode of the “HypchondriActor” podcast with Sean Hayes and Dr. Priyanka Wali. “I mean, tell me one dancer that doesn’t. … When I look at myself in the mirror and someone says, ‘Oh, you look amazing,’ I see someone who is overweight. And in my eyes and way of judging myself, not amazing, no matter what I look like.”
She added: “I was pretty skinny [during my first few seasons] and yet I was still giving wardrobe hassle in our fittings. Meaning not hassling them, more like, ‘Oh, I feel like s–t,’ or ‘Oh, my God, look at my fat roll.’ It’s so ridiculous, right? It was, like, a big deal, like, ‘Cheryl’s too fat for TV.’ And then I had a couple of my coworkers blasting my ass too. I would wake up to, like, [Los Angeles radio station] KTLA [saying], ‘Cheryl’s too fat.’”
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April 2022
As DWTS was moved from its longtime residence on ABC to Disney’s streaming platform, Burke was enthused about the way forward for the present.
“It’s an exciting new chapter for the show and for the streaming world in general. Now the west coast can vote in real-time,” she instructed Us. “I’m excited for the show possibilities over at Disney+ and am daydreaming about how we’re going to pull off quick changes and set changes with no commercial breaks!”
Credit: Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock
November 2021
In the center of Burke’s season 30 partnership with Rigsby, the pair each examined constructive for the coronavirus and had been pressured to isolate of their respective flats. The twosome continued dancing and carried out a digital jazz quantity from their separate dwellings. However, the judges didn’t provide a lot grace contemplating the circumstances.
“I think that last night they were pretty harsh, to be quite honest,” Burke instructed Us and different reporters, wishing the judges “put everything into perspective” when arising with their scores. “We basically only had, like, five to six hours a day to really be able to get something done. … I could have accepted the sixes if they could have at least acknowledged what was done, what was being done here, you know.”
Credit: Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
November 2020
“My hips don’t lie, and I’m starting to get tendonitis,” the dancer admitted throughout an look on the “Chicks in the Office” podcast. “For a woman, as far as ballroom dancing competitively goes, normally in their 30s [they retire]. I’m 36, so it’s time to hang up those shoes. … I also don’t want to be like that oldie that’s like, ‘Oh, here comes Cheryl doing the same choreography, just going slow but in her head, she thinks she’s going that fast.’”
Credit: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
August 2020
While Burke thinks former Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger was one among the finest rivals to ever seem on the competitors, she referred to as Master P “hands down” the worst.
“He did absolutely nothing but stand there and only wear his team Miller shoes that he was just coming out with early,” she completely recalled to Us. “He was trying to sell shoes. Hopefully, he did.”
Credit: Matt Sayles/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
September 2019
“I can’t tell you who my partner is, obviously, but he is definitely somebody who I prefer,” Burke instructed Us of her season 28 associate, who was later revealed to be retired soccer participant Ray Lewis. “I guess you could say from his job, from his occupation … he understands and he gets it. So I always prefer these types of people, let’s put it that way.”
Credit: John Salangsang/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
November 2017
While DWTS viewers have lengthy been vital of the present’s voting outcomes, Burke fervently shut down the claims.
“Being a part of the show now for 20 seasons, I can tell you that the show is not rigged despite what people might think. The votes are 50/50 from the judges and the fans,” she wrote in an unique essay for Us, shortly after Jordan Fisher and Lindsay Arnold’s season 25 victory. “That’s how this process works; the fans want to feel involved with their actual journey. If it were just up to the judges, I don’t know if so many people would tune in every week. You can never assume anyone is safe even if they get a perfect score. That’s why having a strong fan base is so important.”
She added: “Dancing With the Stars has been an evolution of so many different styles and I feel like in order to keep your game up, you also have to be able to work on yourself.”
Credit: Todd Williamson/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
April 2016
After working collectively on DWTS season 4, Burke revealed on the “Allegedly” podcast that she was not a fan of collaborating with Ziering and needed to “slit my wrists” all through the expertise.
“I’ve always lived by the rule that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. Recently and regrettably, I broke that rule,” she tweeted a number of days later, apologizing for her candid remarks. “In the heat of an interview conversation, I used a phrase that seemingly makes light of suicide and I deeply regret it. I have many friends and family members that struggle with depression and thoughts of suicide. To have said something that seemingly makes a mockery of what they’ve gone through and what they live with is something that I apologize for.”
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