Cheryl Bautista Burke (born May 12, 1984) is a 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).
Early life
Growing up in San Francisco, California, Cheryl 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 the age of thirteen, Cheryl was competing and traveling all over the world. She graduated from Menlo-Atherton High School in 2002. Cheryl is of Filipino, Irish and Russian descent.
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.
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 world wide.
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. She also won 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.
Outside Her Dancing Career
Cheryl lives in Los Angeles and is now receiving many Hollywood offers. Although her calendar is filling up, she 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 and her family are known for their volunteering and philanthropy. 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".
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