"Dancing with the Stars," is one of television's most popular shows. In season two, Cheryl Burke won it with Drew Lachey and did it again the next year paired with football great Emmitt Smith.
The show has made the San Mateo County native a star.
"Thanks to everyone supporting the show, we still have jobs," she said.
After 10 seasons, she says she likes athletes as dancing partners.
"They know what it takes to actually make it to the top. They know how to handle pressure, they love to be coached," Cheryl said.
Now for Cheryl, the shoe is on the other foot as she is learning a new dance. Luis Bravo's 'Forever Tango' has become a Broadway staple and Cheryl has joined the cast for the Bay Area run. To learn the steps she had to go to the source -- Argentina.
"I had to take everything from ballroom that i have been trained to do for 20 years and basically throw it out the door and learn from scratch," she said.
She spent three weeks learning the Argentinean tango with Bravo's dancers and it proved to be a new challenge.
"It's not just about knowing your steps. It's all the details that come with actual movements, story," Cheryl said.
It's probably a good time to come back to Bay Area for the holidays because her life in Hollywood is really a fishbowl with the paparazzi everywhere.
"It's a little overwhelming but you just come back home here," Cheryl said.
She's written her biography due out in February and it's about how dance has shaped her life.
Cheryl will dance in the Bay Area until Jan. 9 at the Marines Memorial Theater and then it's the next season of 'Dancing with the Stars.'
