Sharna May Burgess (born 21 June 1985) is an Australian professional ballroom dancer and choreographer. She first gained recognition on the light entertainment television program Dancing with the Stars and the joint Belgian-Dutch iteration of So You Think You Can Dance.
Burgess relocated to the United States to join the American version of Dancing with the Stars as a member of the troupe. She was promoted to pro in 2013, and won the twenty-seventh season with on-air radio personality Bobby Bones. In 2019, Burgess returned to the Australian iteration of Dancing with the Stars as a judge alongside Craig Revel Horwood and Tristan MacManus.
Early life Sharna May Burgess was born on 21 June 1985 in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, to Ray and Lucy Burgess.About Sharna | Sharna Burgess Growing up, she was involved in several sports and different styles of dance. At the age of five, she began training in ballet, jazz and gymnastics. When she turned eight, her study of ballroom began, and she went on to win many local and national titles. At age 15, she was chosen to represent Australia at the World Championships in both the Standard and Latin styles, and performed in the 2000 Summer Olympics Closing Ceremonies.
Career At age 18, Burgess moved to London, where she collected numerous titles and appeared in a UK tour with the show, Simply Ballroom.Hodges, Ben, and Scott Denny. Theatre World, Volume 66: 2009-2010. Vol. 66. Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2011. Post Simply Ballroom, choreographer Jason Gilkison gave her a spot on tour with Burn the Floor. She was in the cast for six years. Burgess was a member of the Burn the Floor cast when the show moved to Broadway.
Burgess' first television appearances were on the Australian Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance in Belgium and the Netherlands. She joined the cast of season 13 of Dancing with the Stars as a troupe member. While on the troupe, she also assisted So You Think You Can Dance choreographer Jason Gilkison on both the Australian and American versions of the show. She remained on the troupe until the end of season 15. For season 16, Burgess was bumped to regular pro and was partnered with Andy Dick. She returned as a professional for season 17, this time partnered with retired NFL star Keyshawn Johnson. They were the first couple eliminated. For season 18, she was paired with Olympic ice dancer Charlie White. They were eliminated during week 9 (the semi-finals) and ended in 5th place despite raves from the judges and high scores throughout the season. Sharna was then confirmed for season 19 on 27 August. For season 19, she paired with talk-show host Tavis Smiley. They were eliminated on week 2, finishing in 12th place.
For season 20, Burgess was paired with combat veteran and motivational speaker, Noah Galloway. The pair made it to the finals and finished in third place. For season 21, she was paired with Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter. The couple made it to the finals and ended in second place behind winners Bindi Irwin, and her partner Derek Hough. For season 22, she was paired with NFL player Antonio Brown. The couple made it to the semi-finals but were eliminated and finished in 4th place. For season 23, Burgess was partnered with race car driver James Hinchcliffe. Due to a knee injury from the previous week's dress rehearsal, Burgess had to sit out during week 8–9. Jenna Johnson substituted for her as Hinchcliffe's partner.Dancing With the Stars' Sharna Burgess Sidelined With Knee Injury - eonline.com - 31-10-2016 The couple made it to the finals, and finished in 2nd place behind winners Laurie Hernandez and her partner Valentin Chmerkovskiy.
For season 24, Burgess was partnered with professional bull rider Bonner Bolton. The couple were eliminated on week 8, and finished in fifth place. Burgess returned for season 25 and was paired with former NBA player, Derek Fisher. The couple were eliminated on week 4, and finished in eleventh place. For season 26, she was paired with NFL player Josh Norman. The pair made it to the finals, finishing in second place overall. For season 27, she was partnered with radio personality Bobby Bones. Despite low scores from the judges, they were consistently saved by the viewers' votes and won the competition. On 2 February 2019, it was announced that Burgess was joining the Australian version of the reality dancing competition series as its sole female judge. Burgess did not appear on season 28 of the American version. She returned the following year for season 29 of the American version and was partnered with actor Jesse Metcalfe. The couple was eliminated in the fifth week of competition and finished in 12th place. In Season 30, she returned with real life partner Brian Austin Green and finished 13th.
Season Partner Place16Andy Dick7th17Keyshawn Johnson12th18Charlie White5th19Tavis Smiley12th20Noah Galloway3rd21Nick Carter2nd22Antonio Brown4th23James Hinchcliffe2nd24Bonner Bolton5th25Derek Fisher11th26Josh Norman2nd27Bobby Bones1st29Jesse Metcalfe12th30Brian Austin Green 13th35Tyler Cameron TBD
Performances on Dancing with the Stars
Season 16: Celebrity partner Andy Dick
Average: 19.3 Placed: 7th
In an interview with Access Hollywood, Burgess admitted she knew nothing of Dick's tumultuous past, due to the fact that she was living out of the country. Andy and Sharna continually received low scores and harsh criticisms from the judges. However, Burgess was praised for her work with him. Week #Dance/songJudges' scoreResultInabaGoodmanTonioli1Foxtrot / "Witchcraft"656No Elimination2Jazz / "Poker Face"767Safe3Cha-cha-cha / "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?"666Bottom Two4Viennese Waltz / "Hallelujah"777Safe5Paso Doble / "The Plaza of Execution"666Safe6Samba / "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" Team Samba/ "Superstition" 686968Safe7Rumba / "Cherry Pink (and Apple Blossom White)" Cha-cha-cha Dance off / "Brokenhearted"5Lost6This6EventEliminated
Season 17: Celebrity partner Keyshawn Johnson
Average: 17.5 Placed: 12th
Week #Dance/songJudges' scoreResultInabaGoodmanTonioli1Cha-cha-cha / "Treasure"656No Elimination2 Samba/Get Up Offa That Thing666Eliminated
Season 18: Celebrity partner Charlie White
Average: 27.0 Placed: 5th
Week #Dance/songJudges' scoreResultInabaGoodmanTonioliGuest Judge1Contemporary / "Let Her Go"999-No Elimination2Tango / "Addicted to You"979-Safe3Jive / "Happy"99991Safe42 Rumba / "Wildest Moments"78993No Elimination5 Jazz / "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"910994Safe6 Cha-cha-cha / "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)"99995Safe7 Paso Doble / "Sail" Team Freestyle / "The Cup of Life"98889910610Safe8Quickstep / "My Heart Goes Boom" Celebrity Dance Duel (Contemporary) / "Stay with Me"109109101010710Safe9Semi-FinalsFoxtrot / "New York, New York" Samba / "Mo Money Mo Problems"1091091091089Eliminated1Score from guest judge Robin Roberts2For this week only, as part of the "Partner Switch-Up", White did not perform with Sharna Burgess and instead performed with Peta Murgatroyd.3Score from guest judge Julianne Hough.4Score from guest judge Donny Osmond.5Score from guest judge Redfoo.6Scores from guest judge Ricky Martin.7Score from guest judge Abby Lee Miller.8Score from guest judge Kenny Ortega.
Season 19: Celebrity partner Tavis Smiley
Average: 28.5 Placed: 12th
Week #Dance/songJudges' score Result InabaGoodmanHoughTonioli1Foxtrot / "Pride and Joy"7787Safe2Cha-cha-cha / "Boogie Wonderland"7777Eliminated
Season 20: Celebrity partner Noah Galloway
Average: 32.9 Placed: 3rd
Week #Dance/songJudges' score Result InabaGoodmanHoughTonioli1Cha-cha-cha / "I Lived"7667No Elimination2Samba / "Homegrown Honey"7677Safe3Argentine Tango / "Rather Be"7788Safe4Contemporary / "American Soldier"8888Safe5Foxtrot / "A Whole New World"7777Safe6Rumba / "Waves" Team Freestyle / "Wipe Out"71079710810Safe7Jazz / "Super Bad" Cha-cha-cha Dance-Off / "Dance with Me"10Awarded829Extra9PointsSafe8Tango / "Geronimo" Trio Salsa / "Mr. Put It Down"88788888Last to be called safe9Semi-FinalsViennese Waltz / "The Time of My Life" Paso Doble / "Unstoppable"9-910910910Safe10FinalsArgentine Tango / "Rather Be" Freestyle / "Titanium" & "Fix You" Argentine Tango & Cha-cha-cha Fusion / "Surrender"8109810981098109 Third Place
Season 21: Celebrity partner Nick Carter
Average: 27.2 Placed: 2nd
Week #Dance/songJudges' scoreResultInabaHoughTonioli1Cha-cha-cha / "I Don't Like It, I Love It"888No Elimination2Jive / "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" Foxtrot / "Coming Home"787878Safe3Viennese Waltz / "Did I Make the Most of Loving You?"991/99Safe4Jazz / "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)"999Safe52 Paso Doble / "Don't Look Down"99/839No Elimination6 Samba / "You Should Be Dancing"910/10410Safe7 Argentine Tango / "Bring Me to Life" Team Freestyle / "This Is Halloween"810810810Safe8Contemporary / "Can't Help Falling in Love"101010Safe(Immunity)9Quickstep / "A Cool Cat in Town" Team-Up Dance (Rumba) / "Hey Jude"9999109Safe10SemifinalsTango / "Scars"Samba Dance-off / "Lean On" Trio Salsa / "No Doubt About It"8No108Extra10 8Points10Last to be called safe11FinalsJive / "Runaway Baby" Freestyle / "Larger than Life" Salsa & Tango Fusion / "Turn Up the Music"101010101010101010Runner-Up1 Score given by guest judge Alfonso Ribeiro. 2This week only, for "Partner Switch-Up" week, Carter performed with Witney Carson instead of Burgess. Burgess performed with Andy Grammer.
3Score given by guest judge Maksim Chmerkovskiy
4Score given by guest judge Olivia Newton-John.
Season 22: Celebrity partner Antonio Brown
Average: 24.7 Placed: 4th
Week # Dance/songJudges' scoreResultInabaGoodmanTonioli1Quickstep / "Bad Man"867No Elimination2Rumba / "Adorn"667Safe3Foxtrot / "7 Years"767Safe4Jazz / "Friend Like Me"98/919Safe5Cha-cha-cha / "Son of a Preacher Man"76/627No Elimination6Jive / "Footloose"999Safe7Tango / "Paint It Black" Team Freestyle / "Super Bad", "Living in America" & "I Got You (I Feel Good)"8989810Safe8Viennese Waltz / "Love On the Brain" Team-up Dance (Paso Doble) / "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"993910910Safe9SemifinalsTrio Argentine Tango / "Mi Confesion" Contemporary / "Hall of Fame" 9999910Eliminated1 Score given by guest judge Zendaya.2 For this week only, as part of "America's Switch Up", Brown performed with Karina Smirnoff instead of Burgess. Burgess performed with Nyle DiMarco.3 Score given by guest judge Maksim Chmerkovskiy.3 Due to Inaba being the judge coaching Brown's team during the team-up dance, the viewers scored the dance in her place with the averaged score being counted alongside the remaining judges.
Season 23: Celebrity partner James Hinchcliffe
Average: 36.6 Placed: 2nd
Week #Dance/songJudges' score Result InabaGoodmanHoughTonioli1Foxtrot / "Live Life"8878No Elimination2Paso Doble / "The Walking Dead Theme"7778Safe3Cha-cha-cha / "Big Trouble"7787Safe (Immunity)4Quickstep / "The Hollywood Wiz"9N/A910Safe5Tango / "The Right Time"10N/A910No Elimination6Rumba / "Need the Sun to Break"1091910Safe7Jitterbug / "In the Mood" Team Freestyle / "The Skye Boat Song"9109999910Safe82Viennese Waltz / "You Don't Own Me" 10N/A1010Safe (Immunity)92Jazz / "A Brand New Day" Team-Up Dance (Paso Doble) / "No Good"99939391099Safe10SemifinalsArgentine Tango / "Santa Maria" Trio Jive / "Gimme Some Lovin'"910N/AN/A10101010Safe11FinalsFoxtrot / "It Had to Be You" Freestyle / "Beethoven's 5 Secrets" Viennese Waltz & Foxtrot Fusion / "Over and Over Again" 91010 91010 91010 101010Runner-Up1 Score given by guest judge Pitbull.2Due to a knee injury, Burgess was unable to perform with Hinchcliffe, but did choreograph the dances. Hinchcliffe instead danced with Jenna Johnson.3Score given by guest judge Idina Menzel
Season 24: Celebrity partner Bonner Bolton
Average: 28.9 Placed: 5th