‘DWTS’ Pro Cheryl Burke Reflects on Career Following Asian Hall of Fame Induction (Exclusive)

Cheryl Burke is no stranger to accomplishments. The professional dancer was the first female to win on Dancing With the Stars and the first to ever win back-to-back Mirrorball trophies on the hit ABC competition. Before making it big on the show, she also took home championships in the competitive dancing ranks. Burke even has an Emmy to her name. Yet, her latest achievement is easily the most distinct of her successful career after being selected as one of the newest members of the Asian Hall of Fame.

Burke was inducted for the First Asian Dance Icon in American Media and Entertainment during a virtual ceremony held on Nov. 21. She now sits among a group filled with icons like Bruce Lee, Kristi Yamaguchi and even fellow Dancing With the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba. She called it a “surreal” distinction. “I just feel so honored to be able to represent my heritage,” Burke told PopCulture over the phone on Tuesday. This heritage goes back to her mother, who is of Filipina descent and made it a point to show her daughter at a young age where she came from (an impoverished province called Nueva Ecija). Burke credits her motivation and desire to succeed in everything she does to her mom, who came into the U.S. not speaking the language but went on to become a successful businesswoman. “I’ve always looked up to my mother,” Burke shared. “I very much admire her for her strength and just being able to come to this country without knowing English.”

For Burke, who has spent 23 seasons competing on Dancing With the Stars (including this past season with partner A.J. McLean), her passion for dance began at a young age. She said she fell in love with it after realizing that school wasn’t her thing nor golfing. “Dance was the only thing I never complained about as a kid,” Burke explained.

Thankfully, her mother didn’t push back, nor did her stepfather, as they both suggested dancing to her after the failed attempt of going into golf at a young age. From that point forward, that was all Burke knew. “This was something I just wanted to take seriously,” she recalled. “That’s always been my personality. I think I get [the drive] from my mother. Once you make a decision, that’s my decision.”

Pouring on her admiration for her mother, Burke also knows she wouldn’t be where she is at in her life if it wasn’t for her mom’s suggestion to seek therapy, allowing her to see her life clearer and work towards building the career she has and continues to seek.

“It’s been very therapeutic for me,” Burke said of her dancing lifestyle. “I have lived a life, I guess some could say, and a life of trauma as well growing up. Dance has always been my escape.”

Burke documented those traumas from a young age in her 2011 autobiography, which also proved to be a therapeutic source for her. To this day, Burke said she regularly sees her therapist and has taken on another therapeutic method in her podcast with McLean, Pretty Messed Up. This platform is where the two engage in conversations about all of the struggles they have gone through in life and continue to encounter daily, including the duos committed journey to a sober lifestyle.

“It’s been easy for me to communicate my feelings, and it’s been important for me to communicate my story,” Burke reiterated. “I think that’s because of my platform, obviously, my purpose in life is definitely to share my story, and I hope to be able to help at least one person.”

With her latest accomplishment in being selected into the Asian Hall of Fame, which represents a population that makes up 60% of the world — a number that even shocked Burke herself — the Dancing With the Stars competitor is well on her way to providing a positive influence on not just one person or group, but for anyone who has followed her illustrious career.