NYUSABDA > Cheryl Burke

Dancer Profiles Archive: Chatting with . . . Cheryl Burke

It's no surprise that Cheryl Burke's fierce dancing and passionate style got her instantly noticed by scouts from Dancing with the Stars . The season two series champion was competing fervently in Los Angeles with former partner, Jose DeCamps, when she was first spotted. “They contacted me, I went in for an interview, and that's how it all happened,” says the 21 year-old former New Yorker, Professional Rising Star Latin Champion, and newfound Hollywood star. “I did my interview and got chosen to do the show.” And just like that, her life changed completely.

“Every day is different,” says Cheryl, excitedly, while discussing life after her Stars win with celebrity partner, Drew Lachey. From working the red carpet to numerous ABC publicity stints, Cheryl is doing it all. And fans can't seem to get enough of her. In fact PhilippineNews.com recently reported that a simple one-hour private lesson with the in-demand dancer sold for a shocking $31,000 at an upscale high school fundraiser in Atherton , California . (And yes, you read that number correctly.)

Tracy Jo Figueroa caught up with the budding starlet between new projects and travels in late March to discuss her fantastic win with Drew, thoughts on the growing popularity of ballroom dance, and her packed post-show Hollywood life.

First I'd like to start by congratulating you on your win! I'm sure you've heard it a million times, but congratulations nonetheless.
Ha ha ha, thank you.

So, tell me, how has your life changed since the show?
My life has changed tremendously (laughs). People recognize me on the street and congratulate me, which is great because I love dance and I'm so happy with the exposure that ballroom dancing got. I've also had offers to do a lot of things other than dance, which is exciting as well.

Can you talk about any of those offers yet?
Not right now… ( laughs ).

Ok, what about types of offers?
A sitcom, maybe. Some commercial stuff as well. So that's exciting.

That's awesome. One thing I noticed when I first called you is the fact that you have a publicist. How has that changed your life?
It's changed a lot. I have a publicist and an agent now. And I definitely need it. There's a lot of stuff going on. I've gone to a lot of red carpet events, which has been good publicity for me. I would also love to do next season [of Dancing with the Stars ] as well.

Is there definitely going to be a next season?
I think so, but nothing is for sure yet.

If there is a third season, will you be dancing again with another celebrity?
They haven't asked me specifically yet, but I'm just hoping.

Let's say there is another season and you're dancing. If you could choose any celebrity to dance with, who would you choose and why?
A lot of people have been asking me this, and I've been saying George Clooney. But now I'm actually changing my answer to Antonio Banderas. I've seen clips of his movie and he seems like a great dancer. I know that he would never do it, but [I'd like to partner] someone with great musicality and a good Latin feel. I think George Clooney would be great for it [too].

Now, you've been involved in the show since day one this season. Have you had any opportunity to work behind the scenes with the producers or in promotions?
I really didn't have any time to do behind the scenes work because I only concentrated on training Drew. We were in that studio eight to 10 hours a day, with additional interviews, and [costume] fittings. So my days were pretty packed.

Can you walk me through a typical day?
We started around 10 in the morning and were in the studio until about five or six at night. We did choreography and went over the dances a lot. We also took a lot of breaks, whenever we needed. Went out to lunch, and afterwards normally to a fitting. I went to the [ABC] studios for the fitting and then maybe I would have to do an interview. Every day changed. But basically we were in that studio everyday from 10 to 5 p.m.

How was that for both yourself and Drew?
It was tiring, especially towards the end. It was very mentally and physically exhausting. But we hung in there, and whenever we needed a break—whenever we felt a little tension in the room—we would take time to just talk. We would totally be open with each other about our feelings because we were with each other so many hours of the day. We needed to make sure that we were still excited about what we were doing, and having fun.

You brought up an interesting point there about tension and taking breaks. We never really see you and Drew argue on camera as much as we see other couples argue. Did you face any difficulties in your partnership, and if so, how did you get through them?
You know, there were moments, especially the day after the show [aired] when I had to teach Drew another dance. It was difficult for him. But you have to just deal with each other's—I guess—tempers (laughs), or personalities. But we never fought. We got along from day one. Drew is a very grounded person, and he is understanding and patient, and that's what it takes.

When did you first start practicing with Drew?
We started about three weeks before the first show aired and we only knew the first dance that we were going to do, the Cha Cha. So it was kind of like an intro to ballroom dancing and the technique.

When was the first time you realized, "Wow, I really have a good partner here?"
The first show we did.

Not anytime before that?
Well, when we practiced Drew would be very low key. He wouldn't perform, but would just kind of walk through the motions. But as soon as our first performance began he just lit up. He totally put 100 percent on top of what he could do already and he performed.

In terms of performing live, you mentioned in your blog on the Dancing with the Stars website that you would get nervous even when Drew was calm. Why is that and were your nerves different from those you may have felt during prior professional competitions?
The nerves were more excitement. I was excited and I was nervous as well—especially during the first show—because I didn't know how Drew was going to perform and I wanted everything to go well. This competition was also very different from others because in [professional] competitions, you get nervous, but you know everything will be ok because you're dancing with another professional. On this show, with 27 million viewers… When you think about that and how the show is live, you know you can't redo anything. I wanted to make sure that Drew was comfortable, but as soon as the first performance hit I realized he could perform like no other. I was very comfortable, but [the nerves] were more of an adrenaline rush. I felt more excited than nervous.

Looking back is there anything you would have done differently with Drew in how you taught him or how you performed?
No, because Drew—from the moment I met him—was so dedicated to win this competition. We put in a lot of time and effort, and we got along so well, and we really matched each other's personalities. I wouldn't have changed anything.

I heard Drew is a father now. Have you kept in touch with him since the show?
I have, Drew's wife just had a baby, and we do keep in touch at least once or twice a week.

Is he still dancing?
No (laughs).

Do you think he will start up again anytime soon?
I don't think so. I think his dancing career is over...

Aww that's a shame, but at least he won the competition.
Yes, yes.

I want to back track a little to how the success of the show and your win has affected you. You used to live in New York before the show, right?
Yes, for a couple of years before the show started.

What made you decide to move to LA?
I was out here already [for the show], and I love California . I'm originally from San Francisco and I just felt that this would be the best place for me to be right now in my career.

Was it difficult at first for you to stop your life, and move out to LA for the show?
Nope.

No?
No, no it was a difficult decision because I had to ask my partner at the time. But it was a great opportunity for me and I'm very happy I did it, and my life has changed only for the better.

Do you have any regrets at all?
No, none.

That's good. What was it like for your partner to let you go? Was that difficult for him?
He was supportive. We were also involved personally so that's a whole other issue.

I see. So it was a difficult decision for both of you to make?
It was pretty difficult, but I'm glad I made the decision. And I don't regret anything.

Would you ever go back to dancing with Jose or is that something that probably won't happen?
I don't think it will ever happen, no.

Do you ever see yourself going back into competitive ballroom?
I'm still dancing. I'm going to be doing some shows with Louis actually, Louis Van Amstel.

Ahh, Ok.
But I'm kind of taking a break with competition because I want to see where this takes me for now. And if nothing works out I can always go back to competition.

Was that a hard decision for you to make?
You know, it wasn't because I've been so involved in competing for the last 10 years. I wouldn't mind having a little break. If I were to start a new partnership and prepare for a competition, next season [of Dancing with the Stars ] would have already started. So, I feel, I want to do this for a couple more years and see where this takes me.

How is the Hollywood scene different from New York ?
Well, moving out to LA... It's completely different because people—just random people—even celebrities recognize me, which is crazy! When I was in New York I was so focused on my dancing and that's all I did. Now I'm trying to build on my dancing career and do other things also. So, it's a whole new life for me right now.

Have you ever considered yourself a celebrity?
I've never thought of myself as a celebrity, and I still don't think so. But it's so weird because everybody says, “You know you're a celebrity now.” Everyone is coming up to me and saying, “Oh my God, you're a celebrity!” or “Oh my God, I'm next to a celebrity! Can I take a picture with you?” So I think in peoples' minds I am, but I still don't think of myself as one. I still think of myself as a dancer. It's always dance.

What goes through your head when you think about all these fans that are not just Drew's fans, but your own individual fans?
It feels great. Sometimes people come up to me and say, “Oh my god, you gave me chills,” or “You made me want to dance again,” and it feels so good because that's what I want to do. That's why I dance, not only because it's my passion, but to give other people inspiration as well. So it's great to have fans that are supportive. It just feels really good.

You're 21 right ?
Yes.

Did you ever think your dance training and dance career would take you to this point?
You know what, no, I had no idea at all. Especially at such a young age! I had no idea, first of all, that ballroom would ever be as big as it is now and that's great because ballroom was never really recognized as a sport or as something cool to do. I'm glad to be a part of it and I'm glad to be a part of exposing the sport. I think [dance] is a great thing to do, and it's great to see that people actually want to take dancing seriously now.

Can you talk a little more about the recent growth of ballroom? What does it mean to you and where would you like to see ballroom go in the future?
Ballroom has grown tremendously. I've only been in this sport for 10 years, but I remember it when I first started. Ballroom was very popular, but only in the ballroom world. People at school would ask me, “Why are you doing ballroom dance, isn't that for old people?” But the years have gone by and it has definitely changed with younger people wanting to start learning. It's a cool thing to do now.

I would also love to see ballroom get to the Olympics one day because it's definitely a sport because of all the stamina necessary. I mean it's crazy. You see some of the sports now that are in the Olympics and some of them can't even compare to this, the hard stamina you need when you dance.

Do you think ballroom will ever make it to the Olympics? I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
I'm definitely keeping my fingers crossed. I think the only problem is the politics. We take lessons from basically all the teachers who are qualified to judge. So it would be hard to find someone to actually judge it as an Olympic sport. I think that's the only conflict.

Now, to shift gears a little, I can't ignore the fact that I've seen some things about you in tabloid magazines. How has that affected your life in terms of being followed by paparazzi and seeing your face in Us Weekly magazine, for example?
Yeah, it hasn't really affected my life. I just think it's funny, all the stuff they come up with. It's good though because I'm in the magazines and people know me as part of Dancing with the Stars , and I think any press is good press. But you just have to brush it off, keep your head up and just laugh at it because most of it is not true.

Are you close with your family? How do they feel about all these changes in your life and are they supportive?
They've always been supportive from the beginning of my career, and they're still happy for me now. This is actually where they wanted me to go. They wanted me to do things to get ballroom exposed, and to make the money that dancers deserve to make!

So, thinking long term, where would you like to go with your career in the future?
Every day changes for me. There's always new opportunities coming, and I'm living it day by day, really. I have two lives now: I have my ballroom life and I have the Hollywood life. I would kind of like to incorporate it all in one. That is what I'm trying to do right now.

How long do you plan to be involved in Dancing with the Stars ?
You know I can't answer that question because they haven't even asked me to do next season. But if I was guaranteed to do every season I would do it probably for a couple of years, but I don't know what will happen. My life changes from day to day, so we'll have to see.