It didn't take long at all to get a replacement for Abby Lee Miller who quit "Dance Moms" late Sunday night, March 26 through her Instagram account. Miller's replacement had been announced just a couple of days later. The new instructor has a lot of dance experience and patience. She is also comfortable with reality television.
Cheryl Burke replaces Abby Lee Miller
Entertainment Tonight reported that "Dancing with the Stars" professional dancer Cheryl Burke will step right in and teach the young girls to dance on the Lifetime reality show for the remainder of the season.
Filming resumed on Wednesday with Burke. The show has picked up four more episodes this season.
Miller did the show for six years and seven seasons. The dance instructor said she was quitting because she was being mistreated, disrespected and manipulated by producers. She mentioned in her Instagram post that she had not been given creative credit for her dance routines, themes, and costumes. The 50-year-old owner of Abby Lee Miller Dance Company will have an exclusive interview with Entertainment Tonight on Wednesday, March 29.
Burke's experience
No one can question Cheryl Burke's expertise and her patience if they have watched "Dancing with the Stars" over the years. The 32-year-old professional dancer has been on ABC's popular dance competition show for 19 seasons.
She is not on this season's show which makes her available to continue the Lifetime vacancy left by Miller. Cheryl is an excellent choice, but don't expect the drama that you might have gotten accustomed to when Miller was in charge.
Cheryl was the first female professional dancer to become a champion on "Dancing with the Stars" and the first professional to win the championship two times in a row.
The replacement dance instructor of "Dance Moms" is accustomed to training adults, but she also has the skills to tone it down to the level for kids. She has had partners who have been easy to train as well as some who were not so easy to train. However, she managed to become a champion on Season 2 with Drew Lachey and Season 3 with Emmitt Smith.
Her last partner was Ryan Lochte, and they came in seventh place.
Miller's future
Miller quit, but she might have been forced to quit later after she finds out what her sentence will be when she goes to court on May 8. Her future is up in the air because she might have to do jail time after pleading guilty to bankruptcy fraud last June. She could face up to 10 years in prison.
