Cheryl Burke Is On The ‘Dance Moms’ Set
The drama on Dance Moms is heating up yet again as a new coach has come to the set. According to TMZ, professional dancer Cheryl Burke will be replacing Abby Lee Miller. Miller got herself into some legal troubles and is now facing bankruptcy fraud charges. Until all things are settled, she won’t be teaching dance anytime soon. On Sunday, the dance instructor tweeted that she is quitting the show but did not say it was because of her legal problems. Instead, the 50-year-old is calling Season 7 her last because she feels manipulated, disrespected, and used by the male producers of Dance Moms.
On Wednesday, March 29, 32-year-old dancer Cheryl Burke arrived on the Dance Moms set in Los Angeles. Burke is best known from her time as a dancing pro on the hit ABC show, Dancing with the Stars. She was with the show for 10 years and 19 seasons, and left at the end of 2014. Burke has an impressive résumé and has been dancing for over 20 years. She also opened up her own dance studio in Mountain View, CA, called Cheryl Burke Dance. Dance Moms Season 7 was supposed to be all wrapped up, but now the producers have added four more episodes to the season. Burke will be filling in for Abby Lee Miller during the final four episodes.
The actual moms of Dance Moms have had their fair share of problems with Abby Lee Miller. When the show first began back in the summer of 2011, things looked promising. But a reality show just wouldn’t be that exciting if all went well. Viewers certainly enjoyed watching the girls learn dance and seeing the thrill of the competitions, but what they seemed to enjoy even more was the drama. Season 1 was light on drama and ratings weren’t that great, but the show was still picked up for another season. After that, things started heating up and the moms began arguing with each other and with Abby. Dance Moms became less about dance and more about the commotion created by the adults on the show.
Hints about Abby’s legal woes started showing up in Season 6 of Dance Moms. Then in October of 2015, the news hit that the abrasive coach and dance studio owner was facing 20 counts of fraud after allegedly hiding over $755,000 in earnings. With the possibility of prison time hanging over her, Abby was on the verge of a breakdown. When Season 7 premiered in November of last year, rumors were circulating that it would likely be the final season for the reality show. The rumors were never confirmed by anyone on the show, and now it seems like Season 8 might be a real possibility. Depending on how the ratings are with Burke at the helm, Dance Moms may just live to see another season.
All of the moms seem extremely thrilled to have Cheryl Burke on board with them. TMZ posted a video of the five moms outside the studio and they all seemed to agree that Cheryl will do a better job as host than Abby did. As a matter of fact, the ladies were all talking over each other as if they couldn’t contain their excitement. It seems like there’s no love lost and everyone is ready to move on with the new coach and let her begin teaching their kids the art of dance.
There has not yet been a date announced as to when the last four episodes with Cheryl Burke will air. It will likely be something that fans can expect to see sometime this coming summer.
[Featured Image by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]
