Cheryl Burke: Low Scores Motivate Rob Kardashian

"He felt like he deserved a slightly higher score," the pro writes

Photo: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic; Frazer Harrison/WWE 2011/Getty

Last week Rob did really, really well on Dancing with the Stars. I’m proud of him! He’s never danced in front of anybody or danced period, so he did a great job. And his whole family was there to support him, which was really nice. He was happy with his performance, but I don’t think he was happy with his scores. I told him it’s better to start off low and improve every week.

Rob’s not an entertainer. He’s not an actor. He’s not a singer. He doesn’t have a loud personality. He’s really shy. If you think about Keeping Up with the Kardashians, he’s always been in the shadows of his family and his sisters. He’s doing something totally different on our show.

He expected to be a lot more nervous than he actually was when we danced. He didn’t do anything wrong during our performance. He didn’t mess up. I think he’s just really happy he got through it.

Even though Rob’s family has such a high profile and are so well known, I was nervous it was going to be us going home – especially being in the bottom like that – because our scores were low.

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Rob didn’t talk about the judges’ scores too much, but he felt like he deserved a slightly higher score. After we danced, his initial reaction was, “Whatever, I don’t care,” because he has come such a long way.

In the end, I was shocked to see Ron Artest leave. The majority of partners I’ve had have been athletes – and we’ve never been eliminated first.

Having low scores really got Rob into the next dance, which is the jive. We’re really excited about that because it really brings out his personality more. And it’s a lot more fun!

Watch Cheryl and Rob perform on Dancing with the Stars Monday (8 p.m. ET) on ABC.