Cheryl Burke
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cheryl Bautista Burke (born May 12, 1984) is a two time Emmy nominated professional dancer based in New York City. She is best known for winning the second and third seasons of ABC's American version of Dancing with the Stars with Drew Lachey (February 2006) and Emmitt Smith (November 2006).
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Growing up in San Francisco, California, Burke came from a family that loved to dance. At four years old, she began taking ballet lessons and performing throughout the Bay Area. When she was eleven, she discovered ballroom dancing and decided to change her focus. She began training in both standard ballroom and latin dances. By age thirteen, Burke was competing and traveling all over the world. She graduated from Menlo-Atherton High School in 2002. Burke is of Filipino, Irish and Russian descent. [1]
[edit] Dancing
For Cheryl, dancing is a way of life. It provides a medium for her to express her inner feelings and passion all the while maintaining focus and composure during extremely high-pressure situations. It is dancing that has made her such a competitor (both on and off the floor) and made her strive for perfection in anything that she sets out to do.
Cheryl says that her dancing style is unlike anyone else's. She takes pride in being a "rule breaker" and feels that her greatest achievements in dancing are still to come.
[edit] Dancing with the Stars
Burke made Dancing with the Stars franchise history by becoming the first professional dancer to win two championships, accomplishing the feat in back-to-back seasons of the US series. Burke won her first championship with 98 Degrees boy band member Drew Lachey in the second season, and she won her second championship with retired football star Emmitt Smith in the third season. Cheryl Burke's feat has never been done before by anyone in any of the Dancing with the Stars franchises worldwide.
Burke returned to the ballroom on March 19 for Season 4, this time partnered with actor Ian Ziering.[2]
[edit] Awards and honors
Honors include 2005 World Cup Professional Rising Star Latin Champion UK Championships and 4th in U.S. in the "Under 21s." Last year, Cheryl won the Dancing with the Stars title with Drew Lachey on season two, as well as the third season with Emmitt Smith.
Cheryl Burke was nominated twice for Outstanding Choreography on the 2006 Emmy Awards, making her the youngest nominee in that category.
[edit] Outside Her Dancing Career
Cheryl lives in Los Angeles, and has recently returned to her childhood home in the Bay Area to support local schools. In March 2006, she helped the International School of the Peninsula (ISTP) in Palo Alto, CA, raise $250,000 for its educational programs. The following weekend, along with DWTS runner-up Jerry Rice, she helped Menlo School raise funds for their school. A one hour dance lesson in her house ballroom sold for $31,000. Cheryl, along with Louis van Amstel and Ashly DelGrosso, appeared on the September 22, 2006 episode of The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, titled Loosely Ballroom. Cheryl is dating Boy Meets World actor Matthew Lawrence whom she met through fellow contestant Joey Lawrence from Dancing with the stars.
[edit] External links
- Official web site for Cheryl Burke
- Dancing with the Stars biography
- My Ox Is Broken Interview
- Cheryl Burke at the Internet Movie Database
- Cheryl Burke interview
- Cheryl Burke
- DanceSport Competition Results
[edit] References
| Preceded by Kelly Monaco & Alec Mazo |
Dancing with the Stars (US) winner Season 2 (Spring 2006 with Drew Lachey) Season 3 (Fall 2006 with Emmitt Smith) |
Succeeded by current |
