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"Never in my wildest dream have I thought that my gift of dance would take me places like national television," said Cheryl Burke when asked about being a celebrity. She is, after all, a living proof for many dance artists that they can also make it big on primetime television.
A two-time Dancing with the Stars champion – both with singer Drew Lachey and with NFL Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith—Cheryl athletic moves, exotic beauty and charming personality won viewers’ hearts and votes. Born to a Filipina mother, Sherri Bautista, Cheryl initially studied ballet but switched her focus to ballroom dancing. By the age of 13, she was strutting her stuff all over the globe.
In 2005, she caught the eye of an ABC talent scout and became a primetime player on Dancing with the Stars, earning two Emmy nominations for choreography in the process. On the show’s second season she and Lachey danced away with the trophy, as well as during the following year with NFLer Smith. Cheryl has remained with the show, making it to the finals in the sixth season with actor Christian dela Fuente.
Still, Cheryl remains grounded and thankful for all the blessings that have continually come her way. "I feel so blessed that I am able to reach out to 20 million television viewers weekly and bring joy to people’s hearts through dance," she said and added, "Being a recognizable face has definitely changed my life for the better but more importantly, it has allowed me to bring people together and encourage others to help those in need."
And by reaching out, Cheryl is using her talents to help the typhoon victims in the Philippines through Dance for a Cause on Sunday, December 20 at her San Francisco studio, Cheryl Burke Dance.
"Losing almost 1,000 lives and seeing almost half a million people get displaced by flooding caused by a series of typhoons that is worse than Hurricane Katrina, is a horrific devastation," Cheryl said. "What’s more heartbreaking is that not too many people in the US has heard about the magnitude of this disaster in the Philippines. It is my hope that by organizing Dance for a Cause, I could raise awareness and encourage not only the Asian population, but also the mainstream community in helping our less fortunate fellow Filipinos."
The evening program will include dance lessons with Cheryl Burke, and group dance instructions, a performance by the Cheryl Burke Dance Studio professional dancers, and finally a special dance number by Cheryl and Mark Ballas. A professional ballroom dancer, singer and actor, Mark was a back to back winner of Dancing with the Stars with Olympians Kristi Yamaguchi and Shawn Johnson in Season 7 and 8 respectively.
"As you may guess, Dance for a Cause is going to be an evening of dancing not only for the performers but also for attendees—with or without dance knowledge," Cheryl explained and added, "As a warm-up to the evening celebration, I will be teaching a beginner’s class so attendees can get the hang of dancing at the early part of the evening."
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