Cheryl Burke

Mama didn’t raise no fool.

Dancing with the Stars pro Cheryl Burke has parlayed her fame on the show into three dance studios, the most recent of which opened on Friday. 

“It’s always been a dream of mine to have my own studios and now I have three — and I hope to open more,” Burke said. “The show has renewed people’s interest in ballroom dance and it’s amazing.”

Dancing with the Stars injures more celebrities than Chris Brown, Mike Tyson and David O. Russell combined. 

Actor Gilles Marini, the least starry of the stars, who appeared in the Sex and the City movie for a split second, had to seek treatment on Friday for a sharp pain in his groin.

Sexxxy.

Marini, 33, apparently has tendonitis in his groin and shoulder.

What has his partner Cheryl Burke been doing to that guy?

Despite the injury, he’ll be fine for premiere night on Monday, March 9th.

Jigga wha?

How did she land THAT?

Dancing with the Stars pro Cheryl Burke, supposedly 24, but we’d like to see her paperwork before we believe that, has a new man in her life. 
Superhot 21-year-old Abercrombie & Fitch model Maxwell Zagorski.

The couple was introduced by Lance Bass a few months ago during the DWTS tour and has been dating ever since.

Is he working her for the PR points or does he like her horizontal mambo?

Either way, Max is FLY!

–Sasha Perl-Raver 

The Dancing with the Stars couples have been unveiled and they are:

Super lucky Lil’ Kim and our man Derek Hough (swoon).

A cozy-looking real-life couple Chuck Wicks and Julianne Hough.

Cougar-licious Belinda Carlisle and Jonathan Roberts.

David Alan Grier spotting awful Don Juan de Marco facial hair and Kym Johnson.

Bizarrely well-suited Steve-O and Lacey Schwimmer.

Denise Richards (yuck) and Maksim Chmerkovskiy (why are we the only one who finds him totally groody?).

Sure-thing Shawn Johnson and Mark Ballas.

The couple invited back for this week’s encore was Warren, or, as Bruno calls him, Mr. Big Fun, and Kym to perform their 007 Tango.

Back in the red room, Julianne Hough, recovered from her appendectomy, thanked Edyta for stepping in. “You’ve done an incredible job and I really mean that,” she said, with an underlying air that perhaps the two had some previous tension between them. “We’re all one big family here,” Samantha Harris gushed while Julianne made a face. What’s up with that Lady Bird?

Cody and Edyta, who’s still filling in for Julianne who hasn’t fully recovered from her appendectomy, performed an affably charming Foxtrot for their first dance. It wasn’t fireworks and lightning but it had a charm, grace and ease, which Cody’s mad frenetic energy (which we dig) usually lacks. Len was “pleasantly surprised. You had an elegance and I thought you did a top notch job.” “I never thought I would see it!

Last night Len kicked off the show by saying “I know that last night, the election, was exciting but for us, Monday night was absolutely fantastic.” Really, Len? Really? You’re comparing a historic victory and the election of the first African-American or bi-racial President of the United States to a bunch of D-List celebrities prancing around in Bedazzled spandex and satin outfits? Oooookay.

Warren and Kym started the night with a Fox Trot. Once one of the fiercest competitors on the show, we feel like Warren is slipping. The fire is gone, the charisma is engrained but the pop and the fizz have gone flat. Len, back in his judge’s chair, was quick to do just that, judge. “Kym always puts a little spin on it that I like…but it wasn’t your best dance. It was a little bit of a disappointment.” Bruno praised their opening but said they quickly “went into a recession. You were flatfooted. You have to go back to the ease of competition you had.

First up were Maurice and Cheryl dancing a Viennese Waltz which was technically proficient but lacked any chemistry. Guest judge Michael “Lord of the Dance” Flatley said it was unbelievable to see the fastest man on earth do something “so slow and elegant” even though he thought parts could have been a little smoother. Carrie Ann praised the improvement in Maurice's posture but was also struck by how little connection there was between M&C. Bruno, filling Len’s shoes as the surly, hard to please judge, said it lacked “the sweep and the grace it needed.

The couple invited back for an encore this week was Cody and Julianne re-performing their jitterbug. Proving she’s a consummate professional, whatever stomach problems Julianne may have been experiencing, you’d never have known by the performance she turned in. It was so good in fact, the audience AND the judges lauded them with a standing ovation.