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Cheryl Bautista Burke was born on May 3, 1984 in Atherton, California. With a Russian, Filipino and Irish descent, the 4-year-old Cheryl Burke started occupying the dance floor they have at home and took ballet lessons. As Cheryl grew up, she then switched to ballroom and Latin dancing and has not stopped since. By age 13, Cheryl Burke already started competing in dance contests.
In 2005, Cheryl Burke won several competitions – she became the World Cup Latin Professional Rising Star, the Ohio Star Ball Rising Star Champion and the San Francisco Open Latin Champion. With all her accomplishments at such a young age, Burke was cast in the second season of “Dancing with the Stars,” – a reality dancing competition wherein celebrities are paired with professional dancers. Throughout the 2005 season, Cheryl and her partner 98 Degrees star Drew Lachey performed 10 dance numbers. Out of these 10 dances, Burke and Lachey scored the best on seven of them, including the Quickstep, Rumba, Tango, Jive, Foxtrot, Paso Doble and Freestyle rounds. Eventually, Cheryl Burke and Drew Lachey became the champions of the second season.
For her stellar performance on “Dancing with the Stars”, Burke was nominated for an “Outstanding Choreography” and “Outstanding Art Direction for a Variety/music program/special at the PrimeTime Emmy in 2006. That same year, Cheryl Burke returned to the set of “Dancing with the Stars” on September 12, 2006, became the partner of retired football star Emmitt Smith and eventually became the show’s season 3 champs. She then participated in the “Dancing with the Stars Tour” with Drew Lachey from December 2006 to February 2007.
By March 19, 2007, Cheryl Burke returned to the dancing floor with actor Ian Ziering. Although the duo only reached 4th place, Burke went on to join the second summer tour from June 20 to July 24, 2007, performing in 24 cities again with Drew Lachey. In the 5th season, Cheryl danced with Las Vegas entertainer Wayne Newton and made it until week 3. She then joined the winter tour and danced with both Newton and Lachey. Burke also competed on the sixth and seventh season of ‘Dancing with the Stars’ alongside Christian de la Fuenta (3rd place) and Maurice Greene (5th place) respectively.
Aside from her work with ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ Cheryl Burke also has been actively raising money for the education program of the International School of the Peninsula in her childhood hometown. Burke also appeared in an episode of “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” and was featured on Stuff Magazine (May 2007) and on Maxim magazine (October 2007). For her achievements, Cheryl has received the Role Model Award at the 2007 Annual Filipino/American Library Gala and a 2008 Asian Excellence Award.
Cheryl Burke currently owns and operates the “Cheryl Burke Dance” studio in San Francisco.
Cheryl Burke Links:
Cheryl Burke Pictures
Cheryl Burke Profile -
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