Dancing Queens' Donie Burch Reveals She Kissed a Celebrity
Donie Burch had a great kiss story in a recent episode of Dancing Queens.
Tapping shoes, busting moves, and locking lips? Well, it is love and war in ballroom dance, as far as the women on Dancing Queens are concerned.
Donie Burch kissed and told on Episode 7 of Dancing Queens, revealing she exchanged a smooch with professional ballroom dancer and Dancing with the Stars champion Val Chmerkovskiy.
“It’s true that I’ve kissed Val before,” Donie told producers.
While kissing Chmerkovskiy might sound like a big deal to those familiar with the ballroom dancing circuit, Donie admitted it wasn’t as romantic as it sounds.
“He was performing, and there was some part in the dance that called for him to go into the audience and kiss a woman,” Donie admitted. “I was so lucky it was me.”
Who is Val Chmerkovskiy?
The two-time Dancing with the Stars winner was born in Ukraine, and at age 8, he and his older brother, fellow DWTS champion Maksim Chmerkovskiy, immigrated with their parents to Brooklyn in 1994. Their father opened a dance studio in New Jersey two years later.
Chmerkovskiy became a virtuoso when the then-16-year-old dancer and his teenage partner were the first Americans to win a world championship title in the junior category. He earned two World Dance Championships and 14 U.S. National Championships in the Latin dance category, according to his IMDB page profile.
“We’ve known each other since I started ballroom dancing,” said Donie, adding that she trained at one of his studios.
Chmerkovskiy owns the Dance with Me dance studios, with more than a dozen locations nationwide, including Texas, New York, Florida, Connecticut, Georgia, Nevada, and New Jersey.
Chmerkovskiy has rubbed elbows with some pretty big names during his nearly 20 seasons with DWTS, including partnerships with Zendaya, Rumer Willis, and Tamar Braxton. When not dancing, Chmerkovskiy has also made several appearances on the screen, including Fuller House and the 2021 film Being the Ricardos.
As a dancing teen, Chmerkovskiy once joked with CBS News that dancing was “a great way to meet girls.” He and his dancing partner and wife, Jenna Johnson, welcomed their first son in January 2023.
Oh, and did we mention he’s a classically trained violinist? Apparently, there is little Chmerkovskiy can’t do.
Val's Advice for Donie
Donie told Dancing Queens viewers that Chmerkovskiy was not just her dance teacher but her “therapist” as well. Throughout the season, Donie has opened up more than once about struggling to have judges see past her physical appearance — which she believes sets her apart from the physiques of other typical ballroom dancers — to see her talent on the dance floor.
Thankfully, Chmerkovskiy was there to offer his sound advice (and it wasn’t lip service).
“Being authentic, but still pushing yourself beyond our comfort zone… they can co-exist,” Chmerkovskiy offered. “It’s hard not to compare yourself.”
Chmerkovskiy instructed Donie to compare herself to “the little girl that loved dance” instead of comparing herself to her competitors.
“If you’re not having joy out there, none of what you’re doing is effective,” he continued.
Chmerkovskiy ended his inspirational pep talk by planting a kiss on Donie’s cheek. (Yes, she got to get a smooch of sorts again!)
Watch new episodes of Dancing Queens Tuesdays at 9/8c on Bravo. Episodes are available to stream the next day on Peacock.
