Did The View co-host, Sherri Shepherd get an edge on her competition for her upcoming gig on Dancing With the Stars?

The rumor is that Shepherd was spotted going into a dance studio owned by professional dancers, Maksim and Val Chmerkovskiy,  with her dance gear back in December, according to Radar Online (who has since taken the article down).

The contestants on Dancing With the Stars aren’t supposed to know who their partners are until a couple of weeks before the show premieres.  The show premieres on March 19th, making a December practice three months ahead of schedule.

Shepherd spoke on The View this morning saying that she and Val had never danced before he was announced as her partner, which is the rule for the ABC dance contest. Shepherd also said she had not danced with Maksim.

“I love to dance,” Shepherd said. She admitted to taking dance classes, and that a dance video she prepared for her wedding had gone viral. Those classes started long before she negotiated to appear on  DWTS.

Dancing With the Stars Season 14 premieres Monday, March 19 at 8 pm ET/PT on ABC.  We will be live blogging the show.