On Tuesday, the
Dancing with the Stars tour kicked off at Seattle, but one show favorite was not present at the event.
Cheryl Burke, two-time winner of
Dancing with the Stars, missed opening night, as well as the show on Thursday in Sacramento, California, due to a bout of abdominal pain. In an interview with
TV Guide, Burk said that she was “cramping and in pain,” during the rehearsals, and “couldn't even stand up straight.”
She was immediately brought to the hospital, where she was told that she might have a case of appendicitis.
On Wednesday, Cheryl Burke flew home to San Francisco in order to see her family physician. Fortunately, the diagnosis was good.
“She does not have appendicitis," Susan Madore, Burke's publicist, told the
Associated Press. "They told her to take it easy for a couple days."
Burke's illness had a great effect on the
Dancing with the Stars' tour's program, with choreographer Louis van Amstel deeming her sudden absence as a “disaster.” Numbers were scrapped, partners were changed and Tuesday marked a new dress rehearsal for a radically revamped show.
“We had a couple of moments when we ran onto the floor at the wrong time, in the wrong place, in the wrong direction,"
Karina Smirnoff, who stepped in to dance with
Drew Lachey, Cheryl Burke's celebrity partner and season 2 winner, said of the dress rehearsal.
Despite the major changes, the tour's opening night went without a glitch.
Cheetah Girl and
Dancing with the Stars 5 contestant
Sabrina Bryan gave an impressive performance despite having to work with a new partner,
Derek Hough. Hough had to step in for another ailing pro,
Mark Ballas, who dislocated his left arm and is not expected to join the tour until after Christmas.
"At first," Bryan, who is dating Ballas, said, "it was so weird to do the new numbers with someone else. And when Derek and I do the cha cha [the most memorable number she did with Ballas], it's just hard."
-Lisa Claustro, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: The Associated Press, TV Guide
(Image Courtesy of Associated Press)