NEED TO KNOW
- Cheryl Burke tells PEOPLE she is looking forward to making her return to Dancing with the Stars on Oct. 28, three years after her departure in 2022
- She explains that it will be a “reunion” with other cast members, who she hasn’t spoken with “recently”
- Burke says she credits DWTS for teaching her “to have my own voice” and hopes she can use her expertise to help the nine remaining couples as a guest judge
Cheryl Burke is ready to step into a new role at her old stomping grounds.
In the upcoming Halloween episode of Dancing with the Stars, set to air on Tuesday, Oct. 28, Burke, 41, is going to be taking a seat at the judging table. Formerly a pro on the competition series for 26 seasons, Burke tells PEOPLE this will be her first time back in the ballroom “since I did my last dance” in 2022.
“I think that it just felt right,” she explains, highlighting that the show is celebrating 20 years. “No matter what was said or whatever, at the end of the day, it really goes back to the fact that this show has brought so much to my life. It has taught me to have my own voice. I mean, if you would just look at my first audition tape, you would be shocked. I sound so different. It has shaped me into the woman I am today.”
Cheryl Burke on ‘Dancing with the Stars’.
Christopher Willard via Getty
Calling her return “special” and “emotional,” Burke reveals that she has “not recently” been in contact with the other pros, so this will be her first time seeing them in a while.
“Emma [Slater] and I texted maybe before the season started,” she recalls. “But no, I mean, it’s gonna be a huge reunion for sure. It’s three years, yet it feels like yesterday. But three years. It’s been a while. I can’t believe it’s been three years.”
“I’m just really excited,” Burke says. “Calling it nerves will only bring anxiety, so I’m gonna try and switch that to excitement.”
Burke says she is looking forward to putting her expertise to good use as a guest judge alongside Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli, especially because she has been in the dancers’ shoes before.
“I really hope to be able to give constructive criticism, but also be encouraging,” she shares. “I know what it takes. I have been there. I know also at this point in the competition people are exhausted. The fatigue has set in, and it looks like there’s no light at the end of the tunnel.”
Cheryl Burke.
Monica Schipper/Getty
Halloween night will include the show’s memorable dance marathon element, which they are calling the “Dance Monster-thon,” where the nine remaining couples will take on the ballroom floor at the same time as the judges tap them out one-by-one.
“If you think too far in advance, it does get very overwhelming,” Burke notes. “But as soon as they start to do two dances, you’ll be able to see the difference of people who will be able to make it to the end versus not. There’s no gray area here. The pressure is either gonna take them out of the competition, or it’s only gonna fuel fire.”
If she could give any piece of advice to the couples, it would be, “Don’t aim for perfection, because what is that, anyway?”
“Beauty is in the imperfections, for sure, and to always dance as if it’s your last dance, because you never know,” she adds.
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Dancing with the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+.
