Maksim Chmerkovskiy

Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Maksim Chmerkovskiy on May 2, 2007
Born	Maksim Aleksandrovich Chmerkovskiy (1980-01-17) January 17, 1980 Odessa, Ukraine
Occupation	Dancer Choreographer Instructor

Maksim "Maks" Aleksandrovich Chmerkovskiy (Ukrainian: Максим Олекса́ндрович Чмерковський, Maksym Oleksándrovych Čmerkovsʹkyj, pronounced [mɑkˈsɪm olɛkˈsɑndroβ̞ɪtʃ ˈtʃmɛrkou̯sʲkɪj]; Russian: Максим Александрович Чмерковский; born January 17, 1980) is a Ukrainian Latin Ballroom dance champion, choreographer, and instructor. He is widely known as one of the professional dancers on the American television series Dancing with the Stars, on which he first appeared in season two. In 14 appearances on the show, Chmerkovskiy made it to the final round four times, with two runner-up and two third place finishes.

Early life

Born on January 17, 1980, in Odessa, Ukraine, to Aleksandr and Larisa Chmerkovskiy, he began dancing at the age of four. His brother, Valentin Chmerkovskiy, is also a champion dancer.^[1] His father is Jewish and his mother is Christian.^[2][3] Chmerkovskiy's Ukrainian ancestry and cultural heritage were referred to on an episode of Dancing with the Stars.^[4]

The challenges of immigration for Chmerkovskiy and his family included financial and language barriers.^[5] He broke his right leg in a childhood skiing accident, with doctors foreseeing difficulties with his leg and little possibility of a dancing career.^[6] Chmerkovskiy recovered to become a professional Latin Ballroom dancer, with the details of his recovery presented on Celebrity Ghost Stories.

Chmerkovskiy owns four dance studios in greater New York City, including Rising Stars Dance Academy (RSDA).^[7] The other three studios are social dance studios located in Ridgefield, New Jersey, and Glen Head, New York, as well as the Soho neighborhood of Manhattan. He recently opened another studio in Stamford, Connecticut. He has been a resident of Edgewater, New Jersey.^[8]

Chmerkovskiy is one of the creators and directors of Dance Team USA, a non-profit educational and charitable organization dedicated to recruiting, supporting, and training future DanceSport participants. This sport is particularly popular with Eastern European families. Through his company Maksim Chmerkovskiy Productions, he organizes performances globally.

A ballroom and DanceSport choreographer, his professional work includes the Wynn Las Vegas's water-based show Le Rêve.^[9] He implemented ballroom-inspired numbers in the Franco Dragone production.

Dancing with the Stars

Chmerkovskiy first appeared in the 2nd season of the ABC series Dancing with the Stars partnered with actress Tia Carrere. They finished in sixth place. The following season, he and partner singer Willa Ford came in seventh place. Chmerkovskiy returned to Dancing with the Stars in March 2007 for Season 4, his time partnered with boxer Laila Ali. They made it to the finals and finished in third place. In Season 5 of Dancing with the Stars, he was partnered with Melanie Brown and had his best finish to date; the couple received second place. Chmerkovskiy did not participate in Season 6, although he and former partner Melanie Brown made an appearance for the 100th episode.

He returned for the show's 7th season, this time paired with two-time Olympic volleyball gold medalist, Misty May-Treanor. Chmerkovskiy and May-Treanor were forced to withdraw from the competition in Week 3. During a practice for their jive, May-Treanor ruptured her Achilles tendon and required surgery. Her withdrawal gave them a finish in tenth place.

On February 9, 2009, on Good Morning America it was announced that he would be paired with Denise Richards for the eighth season of Dancing with the Stars. They were eliminated second in the competition, giving the pair a finish of 12th place. In the ninth season, he was paired with actress Debi Mazar, during which they were eliminated 4th. In season 10, Chmerkovskiy, returning for his 8th season, was partnered with Erin Andrews.^[10] They ended up coming in 3rd place during the two-hour finale on May 25, 2010.

For season 11, Chmerkovskiy partnered with singer and actress, Brandy. They made it to the semi-finals but were eliminated with a 4th place finish.^[11] For Season 12, he was paired with actress Kirstie Alley. On week 3, his leg gave out causing her to fall heavily on him, earning 21 out of 30. The next week, Alley's shoe fell off during their routine. Judge Carrie Ann Inaba called Alley The Queen of the Unexpected Mishap; they earned 22 out of a possible score of 30. They made it to the finals and finished in second place.

For season 13, he was partnered with Hope Solo and they finished in 4th place. In Solo's book, A Memoir of Hope, she wrote that Chmerkovskiy treated her roughly, once slapping her during a rehearsal.^[12]

For season 14, he was partnered with actress Melissa Gilbert. In week 4, while performing the paso doble, Gilbert hit her head on the dance floor and suffered a mild concussion. She was rushed to the hospital and was unable to be at the results show the following night. The couple was called safe. Chmerkovskiy also suffered an injury. He pulled a muscle in his shoulder. The couple was eliminated four weeks later, finishing in 5th place. Making this the 4th time that he was eliminated after dancing a samba.^{[citation needed]}

For season 15, an All-Stars season, Maksim returned to the dance floor with previous partner, Kirstie Alley. In week 1, Alley received the lowest score, a 19.0 out of a possible 30. In week 3, Alley and Chmerkovskiy danced a Cha-Cha-Cha, they scored 17 out of a possible 30. Alley and Chmerkovskiy earned 24.0 out of a possible 30. They picked a Disco for Sabrina Bryan and Louis van Amstel to dance next week, and Bryan and Amstel chose the Charleston for Alley and Chmerkovskiy. For the dance, the couple fell to the bottom of the leaderboard with 30.0 out of a possible 40. Alley and Chmerkovskiy, season 3 Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke, and season 1 Kelly Monaco and Valentin Chmerkovskiy were all joined in the Gangnam Style freestyle team by season 8 runner-up Gilles Marini and Peta Murgatroyd. Alley and Chmerkovskiy along with the other members received 27.0 out of 30, making their grand total 52.5 out of a possible 60. Then Alley and Chmerkovskiy, in the group country-western, they gained two bonus points. Season 4 champion Apolo Anton Ohno and Karina Smirnoff chose a Quickstep-Samba fusion for Alley and Chmerkovskiy. The couple scored 24 out of a possible 30. For the swing marathon, they were eliminated first, making their total 28 out of 40. For the next week, Tristan MacManus joined the couple in their trio paso doble, but the couple received 79 out of a possible 100, leaving them 11.5 points a drift at the bottom of the leaderboard, and they were eliminated, alongside Marini and Murgatroyd, who would have danced a "Mad Monk" Merengue, chosen by Ohno and Smirnoff, if they were not eliminated, finishing them in 7th and 6th respectively.