ABC "Dancing With the Stars" professional dancer Cheryl Burke has officially announced her retirement.
It’s official. “Dancing With the Stars” pro Cheryl Burke has announced that she’s retiring from dancing on the show after the season 31 finale.
In a heartfelt Instagram post, Burke shared with fans that she would not be returning to the ballroom dance competition.
“Tomorrow night will officially be my final dance as a pro dancer on @dancingwiththestars,” Burke wrote. “This has been one of the absolute hardest decisions of my life & I am also confident that it is the right one.”
Burke Thanked the ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Family
Burke took time in her post to thank the “Dancing With the Stars” family.
“This show has been my 2nd family since I was 21 years old,” she wrote. “The cast, crew & fans have seen me through my highest highs & some of my lowest lows, & I honestly don’t know who I would be today without them.”
Burke said that she hopes to move on to the next part of her career.
“I am excited about the idea of evolving, about being challenged in new ways, having the ability to expand my commitment to mental health advocacy, focusing on my new found love for podcasting, & I’m ready to face the uncertainty (though it’s scary as sh**_ of what the future holds,” Burke wrote.
She went on to promise fans that she has “a few things up my sleeves.”
The professional dancer will be dancing during the season 31 finale as part of her “farewell” to fans.
“This has truly been the experience of a lifetime,” she wrote in the post. “I’m looking forward to this next chapter of my career, but man will this one be hard to beat!”
Burke Wants to Stay on the Show as a Judge or Host
The 38-year-old professional dancer has been on the show since season two of the competition, and she has been open about the possibility of retiring in the future and moving on to a different position on the show, though those positions have not been available to her.
After being eliminated from season 31, Burke shared her hopes for next season with ET Online.
“It will likely be my last season,” she told the outer. “Give me another job on the show. There’s lots of different titles, but I have had the same one since 2006 … Hopefully it’s within this family — if not, that’s okay too — but, like anybody, you know, you like to get promoted.”
Right now, “Dancing With the Stars” is hosted by Tyra Banks and Alfonso Ribeiro, but Burke would be open to joining that group.
In a new interview with Us Weekly, Burke revealed what she wants to do in the future on the competition reality show.
“I hope to be a judge or a cohost on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ in the near future,” Burke told the outlet.
Burke previously told Elizabeth Vargas, a former ABC News Anchor on the “Heart of the Matter” podcast, that she would like to move on because she feels she’s getting too old for dancing in the same capacity.
“I’ve been going through personal issues and everything’s been so uncertain. I’m 37, am I going…” Burke Shared. “That makes no sense, and this is in October. But that question mark of just how long can I live as a dancer? Let’s be real here, a lot of women in their early 30s retire. This is not a sport that you could last forever and especially as a woman, and nor do I want to be that person who looks old grandma over here barely kicking her leg up.”
“Dancing With the Stars” airs on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Disney+.