Brooke Burke Wins "Dancing With the Stars" Trophy

Brooke Burke, television host and model waltzed away with the mirror ball trophy in the Dancing With the Stars (DWTS) Season 7 finale on November 25. Dancing a Viennese Waltz with her partner Derek Hough to the song Daughters by Joe Mayers, she impressed the judges and television viewers, and scored 88 out of a maximum 90 points. Coming in second was former National Football League player Warren Sapp who did the Hustle with Kim Johnston to the catchy tune of Funky Town. At third place was former 'N Sync singer, Lance Bass swinging the Jitterbug with Lacey Schwimmer to the song Jim Dandy.

Dancing With The Stars is based on the format of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) hit television show Strictly Come Dancing in which celebrities are partnered with professional dancers in various ballroom and Latin American dance routines that are judged by an expert panel and by public votes. Season 7 of Dancing With The Stars premiered on ABC TV on September 22 2008 and was one of the most popular television shows in the United States. During season 7, Salsa, West Coast Swing, Jitterbug and Hustle were included for the first time in the show.

The 13 celebrities who took part in Season 7 included singer Toni Braxton, actress Cloris Leachman and Olympic sprinter Maurice Greene. Among the professional dancers were world renowned Latin American dancer Karina Smirnoff (the former partner of Slavik Kryklyvvy), Corky Ballas, the US Profession Latin Champion 1984-1991 & World Professional Latin Champion 1995-1996, and his 22 year old son, Mark Ballas. Mark who danced and grew up in England became the British Junior Ballroom and Latin American dance champion at the age of 10.

The day after being crowned Dancing With The Stars Champion, Brooke Burke's past as a Playboy model was a hot topic on the internet. Burke had been featured on the cover of Playboy twice, first on the May 2001 edition and most recently on the November 2004 issue. No sooner had the champagne bottles been popped that there is already buzz about the next season of the show. Season 8 of Dancing With The Stars is scheduled to premiere on Monday, March 9 2009 at 8.00 pm ET. The celebrities who will be taking part include gymnast and Olympic gold medallist Shawn Johnson, singers Jewel and Belinda Carlisle.

Warmest Regards,

Dance Aficionado
Dancesport Malaysia