Maksim Chmerkovskiy

Maksim Aleksandrovich Chmerkovskiy is a Ukrainian-American Latin and ballroom dance champion, choreographer, and instructor. He is widely recognized for his long-standing role as a professional dancer on the American television series Dancing with the Stars, which he joined during its second season. Throughout seventeen seasons as a competing professional on the program, he reached the finals five times, securing two third-place finishes, two runner-up spots, and a championship victory alongside Olympic ice dancer Meryl Davis in May 2014. He has also performed on Broadway in dance productions including Burn the Floor and Forever Tango.

Chmerkovskiy was born on January 17, 1980, in the port city of Odessa, located in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union. Raised by a Christian mother and a Jewish father, he identifies as Jewish. He began taking lessons in manners and ballroom dance at age four and went on to compete in ten-dance events while also playing soccer, tennis, and swimming. At age thirteen, he suffered a severe right leg fracture in a skiing accident that required a titanium rod. Although medical professionals anticipated lasting physical limitations, he resumed dancing within six months. His family relocated to Brooklyn, New York, in 1994, where he later worked at a Russian restaurant as a teenage dance performer. His younger brother, Valentin Chmerkovskiy, is also a professional dancer.

In professional competition, Chmerkovskiy specialized in International Latin. Partnered with Elena Grinenko from 2002 to 2005, he achieved rankings of second in the United States and seventh internationally. His competitive record includes winning titles at events such as the All England Championship, the Ohio Star Ball, the Manhattan Dancesport, and the Yankee Classic. At age sixteen, he and his father established the Rising Stars Dance Academy in New Jersey. As an instructor, he trained his brother and partner Diana Olonetskaya to become the first American couple to win a world junior title, alongside coaching future television dance competitors. He also owns a chain of social and competitive studios under the brand Dance With Me, primarily situated in the New York metropolitan area.

Chmerkovskiy competed on seventeen total seasons of Dancing with the Stars between 2006 and 2017. Over the course of the series, he partnered with notable celebrities including Tia Carrere, Laila Ali, Melanie Brown, Erin Andrews, Brandy, Kirstie Alley, Hope Solo, and Meryl Davis. His season eighteen partnership with Davis resulted in his first victory, as well as the highest scoring average in the show's history at the time. He also served as a guest judge on the panel during multiple later seasons before officially ending his tenure as a competing professional in 2018.

Beyond television competitions, Chmerkovskiy has worked extensively in theatrical staging and live events. He served as a choreographer for the water show Le Rêve at the Wynn Las Vegas, creating routines for the production and contributing additional choreography for a major upgrade in 2014. In addition, he acted as a choreographer and performer for the nationwide Dancing with the Stars winter tour spanning thirty-four cities from late 2008 into 2009.