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Maksim Aleksandrovich Chmerkovskiy (Russian: Максим Александрович Чмерковский; born January 17, 1980) is a Ukrainian Latin Ballroom dance champion, choreographer, and instructor. He is best known as one of the professional dancers on the American television series Dancing With The Stars, on which he first appeared in season two. On Dancing with the Stars, he is often referred to as "the bad boy of the ballroom".
[edit] BackgroundBorn on January 17, 1980, in Odessa, in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the former USSR, Chmerkovskiy began dancing at the age of four. His parents are Aleksandr and Larisa Chmerkovskiy.[1] His brother, Valentin Chmerkovskiy, is also a champion dancer.[2] The challenges of Immigration for Chmerkovskiy and his family included financial and language barriers. A skiing accident as a child broke Chmerkovskiy's right leg. Doctors informed him that there would be difficulties with his leg and that dancing might not be possible.[3] However, he was able to make a successful recovery and went on to become a professional Latin Ballroom dancer. Chmerkovskiy is the owner of three dance studios in the New York City area, one of which is the Rising Stars Dance Academy (RSDA).[4] The other two studios are social dance studios located in Ridgefield, NJ and Glen Head, NY. 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”, Chmerkovskiy organizes performances globally. Chmerkovskiy is a ballroom and DanceSport choreographer. Among his professional works is the Wynn Las Vegas’ water-based show ‘Le Reve (show)’.[5] He implemented ballroom-inspired numbers to the Franco Dragone production. [edit] Dancing With The StarsChmerkovskiy 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, this time partnered with boxer Laila Ali, the daughter of Muhammad Ali.[1] They made it to the finals and finished in third place. In Season 5 of Dancing with the Stars, he was partnered with Mel B and had his best finish to date; the couple received second place. Chmerkovskiy did not participate in season 6, although he and former partner Mel B made an appearance for the 100th episode. He returned for the show's 7th season, this 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 on October 6th, 2008. During a practice for their jive, Misty ruptured her Achilles tendon and required surgery. This withdrawal gave them a finish of 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, on March 24, 2009, giving the pair a finish of 12th place. On August 19, 2009, it was leaked on the internet that he will be paired with actress Debi Mazar. [edit] Dancing with the Stars PerformancesWith celebrity partner Mel B:
With celebrity partner Denise Richards:
[edit] Personal lifeChmerkovskiy resides in Edgewater, New Jersey.[6] He began dating a fellow Dancing With the Stars dancer, Karina Smirnoff, in the summer of 2008. The couple announced their engagement on December 31, 2008.[7] On September 8, 2009 Maksim and Karina called off their engagement.[8]. Maksim has an all white English Bulldog named Sir Sleepalot (aka Sleep). [edit] Dancing Titles· 2005 Yankee Classic Professional Latin Champion[9] [edit] The SuperstarsChmerkovskiy and freestyle skier Kristi Leskinen won the 2009 edition of the Superstars. They had an impressive finish placing in the top of the pack in all weeks of the competition. In the final match, they were up against the team of Bode & Paige. Kristi & Chmerkovskiy remained victorious despite Bode & Paige winning the 1st event in the finale. [edit] References
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