Dancer Cheryl Burke

Every week dancer Cheryl Burke waltzes into millions of living rooms across the U.S., partnered by celebrities who’ve made names for themselves in the fields of sports and entertainment. She may not be a household name, but you’ve probably seen her face. Cheryl Burke is a professional ballroom dancer on the reality-TV program Dancing with the Stars.

Born on May 12, 1984, dancer Cheryl Burke is of Filipino, Irish, and Russian ancestry. Cheryl grew up in California, belonging to a dance-loving family. She attended Las Lomitas Elementary School as a child and began her dancing career at the young age of four.

As the years passed, her mother noticed that Cheryl wasn’t too fond of ballet. It wasn’t until Cheryl’s mother took her to see a ballroom competition at age 11 that the little girl recognized the type of dance that was her passion. When Cheryl saw the ballroom dancers performing, she marveled at their costumes and the beautiful music. Before, she had thought that ballroom dancing was only for old people. Seeing that competition changed her mind about the type of dancing she wanted to pursue. Soon her mother enrolled her in ballroom classes, where her instructor recommended that she focus her training on the standard and Latin style. By age 13, Cheryl began to compete in ballroom, traveling around the world to dance competitions.

Despite Cheryl’s busy competition schedule, she still found time to attend traditional school and graduated from Menlo-Atherton High School in 2002. Cheryl became the 2005 World Cup Professional Rising Star Latin Champion. That same year, she was named the 2005 Ohio Star Ball Rising Star Champion and the San Francisco Open Latin Champion.

Cheryl Burke first got involved with the hit show Dancing with the Stars when the producers of the program saw her dance at a competition with one of her ex-partners in Los Angeles. They invited her for an interview, ultimately selecting her to be one of the professional dancers. Since the publication of this article, Burke has led two celebrity partners to victory on the popular reality-TV show. The first celebrity partner who won was Drew Lachey from the music group 98 Degrees. This win occurred in Season 2, Cheryl’s first appearance with the program. The second celebrity she coached to victory was NFL star Emmitt Smith. This win occurred in Season 3. She was the first pro dancer on the show to have two back-to-back wins.

During the DWTS season, Cheryl usually practices eight to ten hours a day with her celebrity partner. She also practices at night. Cheryl, like all of the pro dancers on the show, must teach her partner the steps and choreograph the routines.

As Cheryl’s visibility increased on the show, she has become more prevalent in the public eye. She tries to use her growing celebrity to raise money for various charitable causes. For example, in March 2006, she helped the International School of the Peninsula in Palo Alto, CA raise $250,000 for educational programs. The next morning, she raised money for the Menlo School.

The entertainment world has acknowledged her contributions to television as well. In 2006, she was nominated for two Primetime Emmys, one for Outstanding Choreography and one for a Variety/Music Program/Special. This made her the youngest person ever nominated for these two categories in the history of the Emmy award ceremony

Cheryl has also had the opportunity to perform in programs outside of Dancing with the Stars. The Disney Channel asked her to guest star on the children’s show The Suite Life of Zach and Cody in an episode called Loosely Ballroom. Fellow professional dancers Louis van Amstel and Ashly DelGrosso appeared alongside her.

Cheryl has danced with several celebrities during her association with Dancing With the Stars. Besides working with Drew Lachey and Emmitt Smith from the first two seasons on the show, she has danced with

• Ian Ziering from the classic teen program Beverly Hills 90210
• Las Vegas performer Wayne Newton
• Actor Cristián de la Fuente and
• Olympic star Maurice Greene

Dancer Cheryl Burke is an accomplished professional who has traveled around the world, performed for millions on television, and she strives to give back to her community through charitable works. She has even opened up her own San Francisco dance studio called Cheryl Burke Dance, in hopes of sharing her dance knowledge and experience with others. The little girl who once thought ballroom dance was only for old people has made a name for herself dancing in front of millions around the world—and inspiring others to learn the art of social dancing as well.

• Written by Kimberly Solis

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