Maksim Chmerkovskiy is a Ukrainian-American Latin–ballroom dance champion, choreographer, as well as an instructor who is famous for being one of the professional dancers on the American television series “Dancing with the Stars”. In his 17 seasons as a competing pro on the show, he made it to the final round five times, with two runner-ups and two third-place finishes. On 20th May 2014, he paired with Olympic ice dancer Meryl Davis, and the pair won his first Dancing with the Stars title. He is the owner of the Rising Stars Dance Academy (RSDA). Apart from this, he also owns three more dance studios in New York City. He is the owner of the company “Maksim Chmerkovskiy Productions”. He also starred in the Broadway productions of dance shows Burn the Floor and Forever Tango. He started dancing at the age of four. He suffered a childhood skiing accident and broke his leg. He had very high chances of being handicapped for the rest of his life. In 2021, Chmerkovskiy competed on The Masked Singer spin-off The Masked Dancer as “Sloth” and finished in second place.
Maksim Chmerkovskiy escapes Ukraine for Poland after 31 hours of ‘no sleep’
After a days-long struggle, former Dancing With the Stars pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy has escaped from Ukraine as Vladimir Putin ramps up military attacks on the European nation. “I’m in Poland,” the 42-year-old Ukrainian-born dancer and choreographer wrote via Instagram Stories on Tuesday, after regularly chronicling his attempts to flee the war-torn country’s largest city, Kyiv, since Putin began an assault against Ukraine last Thursday. Chmerkovskiy, who has American citizenship, had recently returned to his home country to host its iteration of the World of Dance series. He said that the trip lasted for “31 hours” of “no sleep,” and ended with deep appreciation for Polish citizens: “POLISH PEOPLE ARE AMAZING!” he wrote. “THANK YOU FROM THE ABSOLUTE BOTTOM OF MY HEART AND SOUL.” As per the New York Times, around 660,000 refugees have fled Ukraine since the attacks began, with more than 150,000 of those leaving since Monday. The news comes amid Russia’s increased targeting of civilian areas in crowded Ukrainian cities, with a convoy of troops and tanks reportedly stretching for “40 miles to the north of Kyiv,” which the publication called “a menacing presence that raised the possibility that Moscow could attempt an encirclement of the capital.” He told his followers that he was attempting to leave the country by train in a “sweaty and claustrophobic” dash to escape in an overcrowded passenger compartment with other adults and seven children. “Train to Lviv was not an option,” he wrote on Instagram. “The situation at the train station is insane. At first it feels manageable, but it gets A LOT worse when it comes time to actually board the train. Long story but all I can say now is that I’m a big man with nothing but a backpack it’s TRAUMATIZING.”
What is Maksim Chmerkovskiy Famous For?
- Being a Latin–ballroom dance champion, choreographer, and instructor.
- Being one of the professional dancers on the American television series “Dancing with the Stars”.
What Nationality is Maksim Chmerkovskiy?
Maksim Chmerkovskiy was born on 1st January 1980 with the birth name Maksim Aleksandrovich Chmerkovskiy. He is from Odessa, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union. He holds Ukrainian nationality and his ethnicity is Ukrainian-White. He celebrated his 42nd birthday as of 2022. He was born to his father, Aleksandr “Sasha” Chmerkovskiy, and his mother, Larisa Chmerkovskaya. He spent his childhood with his younger sibling; a brother namely Valentin Chmerkovskiy. By profession, Valentin is a dancer. His father is Jewish, and his mother is Christian, and he has described himself as Jewish. Thus, he holds the Judaism religion. He began dancing at age 4. Capricorn is his Zodiac sign.
About his education, his parents enrolled him in a school of aesthetic education. The aim of the school was to train children to become young gentlemen or ladies, and the education included manners and ballroom dance. He began competing in ten-dance, which includes both ballroom and Latin dances. As a child, he also participated in tennis, soccer, and swimming. At the age of 13, he broke his right leg in a skiing accident and had a titanium rod put in to stabilize his leg. Doctors foresaw long-term difficulties and little possibility of a dancing career; however, he recovered and was dancing again six months later. Later, his family immigrated to Brooklyn, New York in 1994 because of financial problems and language barriers. On his second day in the United States, he had a new pair of rollerblades stolen. Moving to the United States, gave him the opportunity to rededicate himself to dance. At the age of 15, he began working at a local Russian restaurant, dancing as entertainment. Working at the restaurant, he decided winning competitions as a dancer would be a way to argue for higher pay.
Maksim Chmerkovskiy Career Timeline
- Maksim Chmerkovskiy competed at the professional level in the International Latin category as a dancer partnering with Elena Grinenko from 2002-2005. During the period, he also achieved the rank of 2nd in the United States and 7th in the world among professional international Latin couples.
- He had his first major success as an instructor in 2001 when he helped his brother, Valentin, then 16, and Diana Olonetskaya, 15-became the first U.S. dance pair to win a world junior championship.
- After then, he taught Serge Onik and Kiki Nyemchek, both of whom competed on So You Think You Can Dance, finishing in the top fourteen in season 11 and fourth in season 14.
- He also owns several social and competitive dance studios under the brand “Dance With Me.”
- Chmerkovskiy also competed as a professional dancer on “Dancing with the Stars” for fifteen seasons. He was often referred to as “the bad boy of the ballroom.”
- He initially appeared in the second season of the ABC series “Dancing with the Stars” partnering with actress Tia Carrere. They finished in sixth place.
- Next, he and partner singer Willa Ford came in seventh place.
- He returned to Dancing with the Stars in March 2007 for Season 4 partnering with boxer Laila Ali. The pair 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 the couple received second place.
- He did not compete in Season 6, although he and former partner Melanie Brown made an appearance for the 100th episode.
- He returned for the show’s seventh season partnering with two-time Olympic volleyball gold medalist, Misty May-Treanor. May-Treanor ruptured her Achilles tendon and required surgery due to which the pair withdraw and place in 10th place.
- On 9th February 2009, Good Morning America 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.
- For the ninth season, he was paired with actress Debi Mazar. But they were eliminated fourth. Halfway through season 9, Chmerkovskiy partnered with Joanna Krupa for one week while Derek Hough was ill.
- In season 10, Chmerkovskiy partnered with Erin Andrews. They ended up coming in third place during the two-hour finale on 25th May 2010.
- For season 11, he partnered with singer and actress, Brandy. They made it to the semi-finals but were eliminated with a fourth-place finish.
- For Season 12, he was paired with actress Kirstie Alley.
- For season 13, he was partnered with Hope Solo and they finished in fourth place.
- For season 14, he was partnered with actress Melissa Gilbert finishing in fifth place.
- For season 15, an All-Stars season, Maksim returned to the dance floor with his previous partner, Kirstie Alley. Alley and Chmerkovskiy were eliminated in week 8 alongside Gilles Marini and Peta Murgatroyd in a double elimination.
- In February 2013, he announced his departure from Dancing with the Stars for Season 16.
- He next returned on the fifth week of Season 16 for “Len’s Side-By-Side Challenge”, where he danced with Anna Trebunskaya.
- Prior to the full cast announcement, US Weekly reported Chmerkovskiy would return to Dancing for season 18 after a two-season break.
- He was paired with Olympic ice dancer Meryl Davis. They were announced the winners on 20th May 2014, marking Chmerkovskiy’s first win.
Source: @people
- At the end of Season 18, they had the highest average of any dancers of the show with a 28.4 average and were tied for the most perfect scores, earning a total of six.
- Next, he confirmed his return to the show in an appearance on Good Morning America on 25th August 2016.
- He partnered with the model, Amber Rose in the DWTS Season 23. They were eliminated on week 6 of the competition, finishing in 9th place.
- In February 2017, Chmerkovskiy and his fiancée, Peta Murgatroyd announced they both would return as professionals.
- Next, he was partnered with actress Heather Morri. They were eliminated on week 6 after receiving a perfect 40 and finished in 8th place.
- He returned for season 25 and was paired with television personality Vanessa Lachey. They were eliminated on week 7 of the competition, in a double-elimination, and finished in seventh place.
- On 5th April 2018, he announced in an interview that he was officially done as a DWTS pro.
- Besides this, his professional work includes choreographing for the Wynn Las Vegas’s water-based show “Le Rêve”. In the year 2014, he returned to Le Rêve to choreograph for a new scene as part of a $3 million upgrade to the production.
- He also choreographed and performed in the Dancing with the Stars Tour 2008-2009 winter tour. He also appeared in multiple performances of the touring dance show “Ballroom with a Twist” in the summer of 2014.
- He was a dancer in the Broadway production Burn the Floor when it opened on 25th July 2009. He next returned to Burn the Floor in November 2009 through January 2010, this time he partnered with Kym Johnson.
- From July 9 to August 18, 2013, he starred in Forever Tango, a Broadway musical, dancing and performing on stage with former dance colleague Karina Smirnoff.
- In 2014, he started performing in Sway: A Dance Trilogy in Westbury, New York.
- On 12th February 2016, he announced plans for a 45 city live tour with his younger brother, Valentin. The tour, titled Maks & Val Live On Tour: Our Way, began on June 15, 2016. The show is autobiographical and tells the story of the brothers’ lives through dance.
- He is one of the creators and directors of Dance Team USA.
- He participated in the ABC sports show called “The Superstars” in 2009 where he paired with Kristi Leskinen winning the show.
- He appeared as himself in a 2011 episode of the short-lived CW reality show “H8R”.
- He appeared as an actor on a 2012 episode of the TV Land series “The Exes”. After then, he appeared on three episodes of “General Hospital” in March 2013.
- He alongside his brother, Valentin, both made cameo appearances in the Netflix series “Fuller House”, a sequel of the sitcom “Full House”.
- In the year 2021, he competed on “The Masked Singer” spin-off “The Masked Dancer” as “Sloth” and finished in second place.
- In addition to this, he starred as “The Bachelor” in the Ukrainian version of the dating reality series in 2011.
- As of 2012, he hosted the Ukrainian version of the game show “The Cube”.
- He has also appeared as a judge on “Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa,” India’s version of Dancing with the Stars.
- He has starred as a judge on the Ukrainian version of Dancing with the stars, “Tantsi z zirkamy”, in 2021.
Source: @instagram.com/maksimc
Maksim Chmerkovskiy Awards and Achievements
Dancing titles
- 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
Who is Maksim Chmerkovskiy married to?
Maksim Chmerkovskiy is a married man to Peta Murgatroyd. The duo started dating in 2012. But their relationship ended in 2013 after 10 months. In October 2014, Maksim and Murgatroyd reunited. Chmerkovskiy and Murgatroyd became engaged on 5th December 2015, when he proposed while onstage for a performance of Sway: A Dance Trilogy in Miami, Florida. The duo is blessed with a son named Shai Aleksander born on 4th January 2017. They were married in a contemporary ceremony in Long Island, New York on July 8, 2017. Today, the family is living a happy life. In March 2022, Chmerkovskiy confirmed that he had fled from Ukraine to Poland.
Source: @facebook
Prior to this, he was engaged to fellow DWTS pro and Ukrainian Karina Smirnoff for nine months in 2009. He also dated the famous model Kate Upton in 2013.
How much is Maksim Chmerkovskiy Net Worth?
Maksim Chmerkovskiy is a talented Latin–ballroom dance champion, choreographer, and instructor. Аѕ оf 2022, the net worth of Маkѕіm Сhmеrkоvѕkіу is еѕtіmаtеd to have $10 mіllіоn. He made this fortune from his professional career i.e dancing career which is his main source of wealth. Starting his dancing career at the age of 4, Maksim is a well-recognized dancer today. Also, he has been featured in various dance theater productions s well as he has appeared on television which boosts up his net worth. His exact annual salary and income are still to get disclosed yet but there is no doubt in the mind of his followers that he is making a cool amount of money from his work. Today, he is living a lavish lifestyle.
How tall is Maksim Chmerkovskiy?
Maksim Chmerkovskiy is a handsome man who has got a charming smile and a glowing face. He stands tall at the perfect height of 6 ft 2 in or 188 cm and his well-maintained body weight consist of 87 kg or 192 pounds. His hair color is dark brown and he has a pair of light brown eyes. His body size is; Chest – 45 in or 114 cm, Arms / Biceps – 15.5 in or 39 cm, and Waist – 33 in or 84 cm. His body type is athletic.
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