Sharna Burgess Promoted To Judge On ‘Dancing With The Stars’ Australia

Sharna Burgess has danced her way to a new level on Dancing With the Stars. Like Julianne Hough before her, the mirrorball-winning pro dancer has moved up to judges’ status on the show. But Burgess won’t be trading critiques with Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba on the U.S. celebrity ballroom competition. Instead, Sharna will serve as a judge on the Australian version of the show, People reports.

Sharna Burges will join Craig Revel Horwood and fellow DWTS alum Tristan MacManus as a judge on the Aussie dancing competition. The gorgeous pro dancer told Entertainment Tonight she is “honored and excited” to be a judge for Dancing With the Stars Australia.

“All my seven years of being a DWTS pro and having the three best judges ever as examples has well prepared me for this. I can’t wait! It feels so right!”

For those American DWTS fans who think they’ve lost Sharna for good, the dancer — who herself hails from Australia — promised that she will return as a pro dancer on the next season of the ABC celeb dance-off. Burgess revealed that while she’s “taking it home to Australia for a few months and a new adventure,” she has every intention to be back as a pro dancer for season 28 of Dancing With the Stars in the United States.

Sharna Burgess, who is a three-time runner-up — and was crowned the winner of Dancing With the Stars Season 27 with underdog contestant Bobby Bones — revealed that while ABC has yet to “confirm” the long-running dancing competition’s return date, she is sure the show will return to TV in the summer or fall. Burgess told ET the ABC reality show remains a fan favorite and is not going anywhere. The dance pro predicted Dancing With the Stars could go on to 45 seasons or even more and will continue on the air long after she is retired.

Sharna Burgess previously explained her own strategy for dealing with the judges when she is competing on Dancing With the Stars. In 2017, Burgess told Entertainment Tonight that she tries not to interact with the judges and doesn’t respond to their comments on air, because it usually doesn’t go well. Instead, Sharna said she accepts and listens to what the judges have to say, because they are hired for their critiques and that they are all tasked with looking for different things in the dance routines.

“Len is always looking for that technique, Carrie Ann is looking for the lifts, Bruno is looking for the personality,” Sharna explained. “You have to accept that they all have their opinions of your dance and just nod, smile, take it on the chin and try to work and be better so they don’t say it again. That is my view of the judges — just be gracious and take it.”

Burgess did admit that when she is writing choreography, she tries to think about what each judge would or wouldn’t like. The ABC star explained that no one likes getting yelled at by Len Goodman on national TV. It sounds like Sharna Burgess is in tune enough with the judges’ dynamic that she won’t be a “grumpy judge” on Dancing With the Stars Australia.

ABC has already announced there won’t be a spring cycle of Dancing With the Stars in 2019. Fans are hoping that the U.S. version of the show returns for a mini-season this summer, or for its annual fall season in September.