Former Dancing With the Stars pro Cheryl Burke has a few requirements in mind if she makes a return to the ballroom.
“New hips,” Burke, 41, exclusively shared in the latest Us Weekly cover story. “Or Brad Pitt? I’ll dance with President Obama. I think he’d be great. A little tall — I’m 5-foot-4 on a good day.”
Burke starred as a pro on Dancing With the Stars for 17 years before exiting the competition series in 2022. During her time on the series, she took home the season 2 mirrorball trophy with Drew Lachey and the season 3 hardware with Emmitt Smith. (Both seasons aired in 2006.)
“All my mirrorballs, they’re just broken. We need some new ones,” Burke told Us as she reflected on her time on Dancing With the Stars. “I wish every 10 years, they just send you a new one. But I am proud of myself. There’s no regrets, but I wish I would’ve really soaked it up more.”
Burke acknowledged she was “so young” when she was first on the show. “I was 21,” she said, comparing the show to a “get out of jail free card.”
“[I was a] club goer by night and a ballroom dancer by day. Seven nights a week for 10 years straight,” she said. “Nailed it.”
Dancing With the Stars is set to return for season 34 on September 16, with influencer Alix Earle, Steve Irwin’s son, Robert Irwin and The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives stars Whitney Leavitt and Jen Affleck vying for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy. Other celebrities and pros have yet to be announced.
While Burke won’t be competing in the series, she has previously teased wanting to be involved in a different way — as a judge. (Derek Hough, Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba served as the season 33 judges in 2024 and are expected to return.)
“It’s going strong, creating a new generation of audiences — you can’t deny that,” she told Us. “It’s not like it’s slowly fading. It’s actually creating a new generation of audiences watching it. Young people are watching. It is no longer like, ‘My grandma loved you.’ It’s like, ‘No, I love you.’”
She concluded, “It’s just a beautiful thing to see that ballroom dancing where it all started from just like it grew into this massive hit. And I’ve said this over and over again, but I will always support the show. I just love how dance is just still celebrated.”
For more on Burke, watch the exclusive video above and pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly — on newsstands now.
