Cheryl Burke
Celebrity Partner:
Tom DeLay
Style:
Latin
Nationality:
American
Did You Know?
Has her own line of clothing
PROFESSIONAL BIO
CELEBRITY PARTNER: Tom DeLay
BACKGROUND:
As the only professional dancer to appear in the DWTS finals three times, Cheryl has won over audiences with her creative choreography and effervescent personality. We suspect her dangerously low cut dresses might have something to do with it, too.
Cheryl joined the show in the second season with a bang, winning back-to-back disco ball trophies with partner Drew Lachey in Season 2, and then with Emmitt Smith in Season 3.
But don't let her sweet smile fool you—this girl has some sizzling hot moves and knows just how to show them off! "We want people to think something is going on, on the dance floor," says Cheryl. "You want people to be so uncomfortable watching it because we are going to be so sexy."
Cheryl started ballet lessons at age 4 and was soon performing throughout her native Bay Area. "But at 11, I went to a competition and saw the costumes, heard the music, and loved that the dancers had partners," Burke explains. Incidentally, these are all the same reasons why we love DWTS!
By the age of 13, Cheryl was traveling and competing throughout the world, later moving on to win several championships. Some of her triumphs include being the 2005 Ohio Star Ball Rising Star Champion, 2005 San Francisco Open Latin Champion and 2005 World Cup Professional Rising Star Latin Champion. Burke also clinched several UK Championship titles, and scored a fourth place showing in the U.S. "Under 21s" division.
Capitalizing on her success with DWTS, Cheryl has started her own line of clothing and dance studio, Cheryl Burke Dance, with several locations throughout California. You also may have seen her as a guest star on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
- 2005 World Cup Professional Rising Star Latin Champion
- 2005 San Francisco Open Latin Champion
- 2005 Ohio Star Ball Rising Star Champion
- U.K. Championships
- 4th in U.S. in the Under 21s
PRIOR CELEBRITY PARTNERS:
Gilles Marini
Maurice Greene
Cristián de la Fuente
Wayne Newton
Ian Ziering
Emmitt Smith
Drew Lachey
