Cheryl Burke's New Dancing Endeavor

Former "Dancing with the Stars" champ to open her first ever dance studio in San Francisco

By Gina Serpe Mar 28, 2008 5:15 PMTags

Pretty soon, you won't have to be a flat-footed celebrity to get dance tips from Cheryl Burke.

The two-time—but adamantly not two-timing—Dancing with the Stars champ has announced plans to open her first ever dance studio in her hometown of San Francisco next month.

Aptly, albeit uncreatively, named Cheryl Burke Dance, the studio space will be open to wannabe toe-tappers of all ages and skill levels.

"Cheryl Burke Dance is an exciting opportunity for me to give back to a city that has supported me throughout my career," the namesake pro said. "It will be a place where students of all ages can come to explore ballroom dance and learn a little bit more about a sport that I've spent my life traveling around the world, promoting and performing."

"Dance is such a fun, upbeat sport, and I'm hoping to have new students enroll for the physical fitness aspect as well as a love of dance."

The 23-year-old's own love of dance has been well-documented on the ABC juggernaut reality show. Prior to the unstoppable force (pre-Adam Carolla partnership, anyway) that is Julianne Hough, Burke was the first ever back-to-back champ on Dancing with the Stars, taking home the trophy on the second and third seasons, with partners Drew Lachey and Emmitt Smith, respectively.

Lachey himself is also expected to be present at the studio's gala grand opening on April 4, as will former contestant Jerry Rice, Dancing host Tom Bergeron and Burke's current star partner, Cristián de la Fuente.

The current season duo will also perform during the event.

Lachey's willingness to show at the event proves that the recent round of unsubstantiated romance rumors concerning him and Burke has done little to stall their platonic partnership.

Earlier this month, Star reported that Burke's breakup from Matthew Lawrence was precipitated by an affair the former Dancing partners carried on during the show's recent national tour, a report that was quickly debunked by both sides.

A rep for married man and father Lachey called the claims "completely false" and said they "could not be further from the truth."

Burke's rep, meanwhile, denounced the long-simmering rumors, saying stories of the duo's involvement cropped up when they were first paired on the show, adding that, "It wasn't true then, and it isn't true now."