ACHIEVEMENTS:
2005 Yankee Classic Professional Latin Champion
2004 Manhattan Dancesport Professional Latin Champion
2003 Ohio Star Ball Latin Champion
Ranked 2nd in the US
STATS:
Style: Latin
Nationality: Russian
Based in: New Jersey
Status: Maks no longer competes with former partner, Elena Grinenko.
BACKGROUND:
During Season 2, Maks and his partner actress Tia Carrere finished in 6th place. In Season 3, Maks partnered singer Willa Ford into 7th place. Maks made it to the finals in Season 4 with Boxing Champion Laila Ali, finishing in 3rd place, and made it to the finals again in Season 5 with Mel B., finishing in 2nd.
Maksim was introduced to the world of ballroom dancing at an early age when his parents brought him to a local ballroom dance school in Odessa, Ukraine. He quickly excelled in ballroom dance and the school became his home away from home.
As a teenager, Maks had a horrible skiing accident that nearly ripped his leg off and left him hospitalized for months. After many surgeries and the insertion of a 12-inch metal rod, doctors were skeptical that Maks would ever walk without a limp, let alone dance. After completing months of physical therapy, he was back on his own two feet walking, running, and dancing. Soon after, Maks established himself as the top dancer in Ukraine.
In 1994 the entire Chmerkovskiy family moved to Brooklyn, NY in order to start a new life and to give Maks and his brother a better atmosphere to grow and succeed in. The vision of the American Dream and his passion for ballroom dancing gave Maks the strength to fight through all of the obstacles that faced him and his family. He worked countless hours on his dancing and soon after emerged as one of the best dancers in the world.
Maks started the Rising Stars Dance Academy, which is the premier youth ballroom dance school in the United States. He is currently a board member for the non-profit organization DanceTeamUSA, which works hard to promote DanceSport amongst the youth of America. Maks also has a production company, "Maksim Chmerkovskiy Productions," which organizes performances all over the world. |
