Sharna Burgess still has love for Dancing With the Stars after she was axed as a professional dancer on season 28.
The choreographer, 34, took to her Instagram Story on Monday, September 16, to post a video showing her at the season 28 DWTS premiere. The video of Burgess watching the show backstage comes a month after the ABC reality competition announced that she and fellow pro Artem Chigvintsev would not be returning for the current season.
“Hahahahaha @mrbobbybones I’m about to run and find you :)” Burgess captioned her Instagram Story video after spotting her season 27 partner Bobby Bones in the audience.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight on Monday, the Australia native opened up about how “sad” she felt when she learned she was cut as a professional dancer from the show.
“There is no animosity from me. There’s no shade,” she said. “There’s definitely sadness, yes, but that’s normal. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was sad. It would be terrible if I wasn’t sad actually.”
When asked if she would return to the show for a cameo or as a guest choreographer for the current season, Burgess said she would come back in a heartbeat.
“I would love to, and I certainly wouldn’t say no to it either,” she said. “If it lines up for me and I can, I would love to go do a little performance for them or choreograph an opening number. I’m down to do all the things.”
Though she has no hard feelings toward DWTS, the ballroom expert admitted that it’s still difficult to think about not starring on season 28.
“Nobody is saying it’s not going to be hard. You know, even walking into CBS Studios [where DWTS films] and driving into the lot, there is a loss there because it’s been a part of my life for so long,” she said. “But I can’t be selfish about that, and I can’t wallow in that. I can only look at what this show has given me for the last eight and a half years. It’s given me a life I never could’ve imagined.”
As for what she misses the most, Burgess confessed that it’s working with her celebrity partner. In her 12 seasons on the show, the Burn the Floor alum was coupled with stars such as Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter, race car driver James Hinchcliffe and NFL star Josh Norman. She won once with Bones, 39, in season 27.
“Beyond missing my peers and everybody around me and us being in that space together, I will miss that journey of getting to know the soul inside of the human in front of me, what they need, what they need from me, what kind of coach they need me to be and how I can take parts of their story and turn it into something inspirational for other people to witness and watch,” she said.
Since her DWTS exit, Burgess has choreographed for So You Think You Can Dance season 16 with Chigvintsev, 37. She revealed the news on her Instagram Story earlier this month. The two choreographed a 1920s-style quickstep dance for contestants Mariah Russell and Gino Cosculluela.
“It’s always an honor creating for this show and the incredible talent but getting to do it with this guy was just 🙌🏻,” she captioned an Instagram post on September 9. “@theartemc your talent and teaching skills are wonderful and next level. I say let’s do more of this☺️ maybe #redvelvet can be our choreography name 😉 (no shipping please loves, be respectful 💗) .”
