Cheryl Burke returned home to Dancing With the Stars during the semifinals and saw Simone Biles eliminated from the competition, but she wasn't exactly surprised.
"Simone, I was saying earlier, she could be part of the troupe that's how good she is, but at the end of the day knowing the show and being on it for 19 seasons, it's about the journey you take," Burke told E! News. "The audience at home, they love to be able to connect as if you're their best friend and they want to see a non-dancer become a dancer."
Burke is taking her dance experience to a new venue on Lifetime's Dance Moms. While she admits to never really being a Dance Moms viewer, Burke said it's not that different than Dancing With the Stars.
"I'm coaching these girls. I come from the original dance mom, so I kind of know how to handle these moms. But it is a lot. I just want the girls to have a positive experience coming out of this show," she said.
Burke replaced Abby Lee Miller during filming of Dance Moms season seven.
"A lot of the girls I feel have been traumatized by the past and I just want them to know it's all about positive reinforcement, but I am still strict. I'm not going to let anything swing by, but it's been a roller coaster ride in such a short amount of time to be honest," she admitted. "Once Abby left we only did a few weeks and there's so much more I want to bring out from them."
Abby's rep has told E! News, "Abby’s seen the clip and would like to point out that while Cheryl says the girls are traumatized from the past, Cheryl doesn’t specifically say it’s from Abby’s teaching techniques."
Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays, 8 p.m. on ABC.