Maksim Chmerkovskiy
The “Bad Boy of the Ballroom” exploded onto the Dancing with the Stars scene in season 2 as Tia Carrere’s tall, dark and ponytailed partner. The often shirtless (thank God) Ukrainian has been known to be demanding, strict and focused on achieving perfection, which has made him a perennial fan favorite (that, and the shirtless thing). Along with striking fear into the hearts of his partners and competitors, he’s also broken his share of hearts having been the target of who’s-dating-who gossip (let’s not name names, ok? we’ll just leave it at “he’s single at the moment” and everyone can go back to crushin’ on the Russian).
And now for look into the past.
Maksim Aleksandrovich Chmerkovskiy was born in Odessa, Ukraine on January 17, 1980. As a child, Maks showed that he had exceptional athletic ability. His father, Aleksandr (Sasha), saw this and exposed Maks to many sports, including swimming, soccer and tennis. Maks attended his first dance lesson at the age of four, but readily admits to hating dance and would instead dream of becoming a professional athlete. Thankfully for us, things changed when Maksim became a teenager and started dancing for money. Wait, that didn’t sound right…he danced in restaurants and competitions.
Anyway…
Around the time when dance started to become more important in his life, Maks suffered a major setback and was involved in a skiing accident. He broke his right leg so badly that not only were his athletic and dance careers in jeopardy, but he could have been permanently handicapped. Of course, our Maksim wouldn’t hear of this (even at the tender age of thirteen) and his determination and perseverance kicked into overdrive. After several surgeries, a metal rod and many intensive hours of physical therapy he was not only walking again but dancing in competitions. (Side note: Our lovable Maks invited the doctor that told him he would never dance again to witness him dance in his first competition after the accident. This is why we love him).
Shortly after his family immigrated to the United States in 1994, Maks began to develop a love of tutoring others in the art of dance, including his younger brother, Valentin (Val), who also became a champion dancer. This new passion of spawning champions prompted Maks to found (and currently serve on the board of) the Rising Stars Dance Academy in 1998 with his father. He also gives back to dance through his non-profit organization, Dance Team USA, which promotes youth dance programs and competitions.
More recently, Maks, his father, and family friend Jhanna Volynets have branched out beyond youth dance and opened Dance With Me Dance Studios in 2005. This chain of dance studios is billed as a social dance experience and is open to anyone and everyone who wants to join in. Currently Dance With Me has studios in Ridgefield (NJ), Long Island and SoHo and is still growing.
The American public caught their first glimpse of Maksim in 2006 on season 2 of Dancing with the Stars and obviously, we liked what we saw. After coming in 6th with actress Tia Carrere, Maks was paired with Willa “I Wanna Be Bad” Ford and ranked 7th in season 3. Spring of 2007 brought season 4, and pro boxer Laila Ali was ticked when she and Maks came in 3rd (who else thought she was going to deck Tom Bergeron?). Also, it’s worth noting that the Dancing With the Stars – Cardio Dance DVD (a.k.a. Get Sweaty with Maks) was also released around this time.
Season 5 was a big one for our Maksim because it was his best finish to date. Partnered with Spice Girl Mel B., the duo came in 2nd although they were the season-long frontrunners.
Maks took a break during season 6 to focus on choreographing the 2008-2009 Dancing with the Stars Tour (which he also performed in). He was back for season 7, but his partner, Olympic Gold Medalist Misty May-Treanor, unfortunately had to withdraw from the competition after injuring herself while rehearsing the Jive. Technically, this landed the couple in 10th place.
Seasons 8 and 9 weren’t kind to Mr. Chmerkovskiy, either, as he and both of his actress partners, Denise Richards and Debi Mazar, finished in 12th place. Never one to sit still, Maks used his time wisely and choreographed Wynn Las Vegas Resort’s La Rêve (2009) and then performed in the Broadway show Burn the Floor (November 2009 – January 2010) and earned an Astaire Award nomination. (Side note: Maks also stages his own productions through his personal company, the appropriately named, Maksim Chmerkovskiy Productions.)
Also in the summer of 2009, Maks won the reboot of the ABC reality competition “The Superstars” with partner Kristi Leskinen. The pro dancer and the professional skier topped seven other celeb/pro athlete pairs and Maks proved his point that dancers are absolutely athletes, thankyouverymuch.
Season 10 in 2010 brought redemption in the form of a 3rd place finish with ESPN reporter Erin Andrews (it also brought along some dating rumors and a contemporary freestyle, which we’ve never seen on DWTS before). The 11th Season included the shocking elimination of Maks and singer Brandy leaving them shockingly shocked and in 4th shocking place.
Moving along…
Ukrainian viewers are now following Maks’ pursuit of true love in the country’s inaugural season of The Bachelor. The show started airing March 17th, but Maks is, of course, tightlipped about the outcome of the show. He did tell People that “[it was] the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” and went on to say that in reference to the stress of eliminating people, “If I knew then what I know now, I would never have signed up. I would do Dancing with the Stars for the rest of my life before I do something like this ever again."
In the United States, Americans are fascinated by his dance partnership and unlikely chemistry with current partner, actress Kirstie Alley on season 12 of Dancing with the Stars. The couple are regulars at the top of the leader board and continue to entertain viewers not only with copious amounts of personality and charm, but with growing technique to back it up. With “The Fall” and “The Shoe Malfunction” behind them, fans are wondering what this quirky couple have in store for the rest of the season. Whatever it is, you can be sure we’ll be there watching.
Dancing with the Stars Celebrity Partners:
Season 2: Tia Carrere – 6th place
Season 3: Willa Ford – 7th place
Season 4: Laila Ali – 3rd place
Season 5: Mel B. – 2nd place
Season 7: Misty May-Treanor – withdrew due to injury/10th place
Season 8: Denise Richards – 12th place
Season 9: Debi Mazar – 12th place
Season 10: Erin Andrews – 3rd place
Season 11: Brandy – 4th place
Season 12: Kirstie Alley
Professional Achievements (per Wikipedia.com):
2005 Yankee Classic Professional Latin Champion
2005 Blackpool Dance Festival Semi-Finalist
2004 Manhattan Dancesport Professional Latin Champion
2004 Nevada Star Ball Champion
2004 World Masters Finalist
2004 Moscow Kremlin Cup Finalist
2004 Philadelphia Dancesport Festival Champion
2003 All England Champion
2003 Ohio Star Ball Latin Champion
2003 La Classique du Quebec Champion
Ranked 2nd in the US
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