A different kind of show girl

Elizabeth Berkley on joining the reality TV dance spotlight

PROFILE. Hearing Elizabeth Berkley talk about her love for dance makes you understand why, as an eager 22-year-old, she would have thought “Showgirls” was a good idea. Or why she signed on to host Bravo’s new series “Step It Up and Dance,” even though she’s starred in critically acclaimed movies (Woody Allen’s “Curse of the Jade Scorpion”), performed on Broadway (“Sly Fox,” and “Hurly Burly”) and has a role on the hit “CSI: Miami.”

“Dance has given me a great foundation in my life. Nothing makes me happier,” says Berkley, who took her first tumbling class at age 4 and soon after added tap and ballet. At the end of each class, she’d literally cry about having to leave. 

Berkley’s a huge fan of the slew of dance shows out right now, including fellow “Saved By the Bell” alum Mario Lopez’s “Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew.” Apparently, Slater was a childhood dance dork too. “Mario has loved this thing for years and it made sense that both of us are doing it,” says Berkley.

Berkley says it was a no-brainer when Bravo approached her to host a show. “To get dance out there in this way was something I was really excited to be a part of,” she says.

And although she still takes dance classes regularly , she now spends most of her free time getting “Ask Elizabeth” her nonprofit,  off the ground. She founded the organization in 2006, to combat the media’s “unattainable” and “unrealistic” messages about women and beauty.  “I started it with my own funding and the idea in my heart to help empower young girls,” she says. Think about that the next time you want to take a cheap shot at “Show-girls.”