Maksim Chmerkovskiy - Dancing With The Stars

Dancing With The Stars

Chmerkovskiy 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, his time partnered with boxer Laila Ali, the daughter of Muhammad Ali. They 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 had his best finish to date; the couple received second place. Chmerkovskiy did not participate in Season 6, although he and former partner Melanie Brown made an appearance for the 100th episode.

He returned for the show's 7th season, this time 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 6, 2008. During a practice for their jive, May-Treanor ruptured her Achilles tendon and required surgery. Her withdrawal gave them a finish in 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. In the ninth season, he was paired with actress Debi Mazar, during which they were eliminated 4th. In season 10, Chmerkovskiy, returning for his 8th season, was partnered with Erin Andrews. They ended up coming in 3rd place during the two-hour finale on May 25, 2010.

For season 11, Chmerkovskiy partnered with singer and actress, Brandy. They made it to the semi-finals but were eliminated on November 16, 2010, giving them a 4th place finish. For Season 12, he was paired with actress Kirstie Alley. On week 3, his leg gave out causing her to fall heavily on him, earning 21 out of 30. The next week, Alley's shoe fell off during their routine. Judge Carrie Ann Inaba called Alley The Queen of the Unexpected Mishap; they earned 22 out of a possible score of 30. They made it to the finals and finished in second place.

For season 13, he was partnered with Hope Solo and they finished in 4th place. In Solo's book, A Memoir of Hope, she wrote that Chmerkovskiy treated her roughly, once slapping her during a rehearsal.

For season 14, he was partnered with actress Melissa Gilbert. In week 4, while performing the paso doble, Gilbert hit her head on the dance floor and suffered a mild concussion. She was rushed to the hospital and was unable to be at the results show the following night due to recovering. The couple was called safe. Chmerkovskiy also suffered an injury. He pulled a muscle in his shoulder. However, he told host Tom Bergeron on the results show that he was okay. The couple was eliminated four weeks later, finishing in 5th place. Making this the 4th time that he was eliminated after dancing a samba.

For season 15, which is an All-Stars season, Maksim returned to the dance floor with previous partner, Kirstie Alley. In week 1, Alley received the lowest score, which is 19.0 out of a possible 30. In week 3, Alley and Chmerkovskiy danced a Cha-Cha-Cha and try to make it iconic as Carson Kressley and Anna Trebunskaya's Cha-Cha-Cha back in season 13, they scored 17 out of a possible 30. Alley and Chmerkovskiy earned 24.0 out of a possible 30. They picked a Disco for Sabrina Bryan and Louis van Amstel to dance next week, and Bryan and Amstel chose the Charleston for Alley and Chmerkovskiy. Alley dropped to the floor, and Chmerkovskiy had an expression. For the dance, the couple fell to the bottom of the leaderboard with 30.0 out of a possible 40. Alley and Chmerkovskiy, season 3 Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke, and season 1 Kelly Monaco and Valentin Chmerkovskiy were all joined in the Gangnam Style freestyle team by season 8 runner-up Gilles Marini and Peta Murgatroyd. Alley and Chmerkovskiy along with the other members received 27.0 out of 30, making their grand total 52.5 out of a possible 60. Then Alley and Chmerkovskiy, in the group country-western, they gained the two bonus points. While picking for season 15 champion Melissa Rycroft and her partner Tony Dovolani, when Chmerkovskiy picked a Tango-Cha-Cha-Cha fusion, Alley spanked Chmerkovskiy. Season 4 champion Apolo Anton Ohno and Karina Smirnoff chose a Quickstep-Samba fusion for Alley and Chmerkovskiy. The couple scored 24 out of a possible 30. For the swing marathon, they were eliminated first, making their total 28 out of 40. For the next week, Tristan MacManus joined the couple in their trio paso doble, but the couple received 79 out of a possible 100, leaving them 11.5 points a drift at the bottom of the leaderboard, and they were eliminated, alongside Marini and Murgatroyd, who would've danced a "Mad Monk" Merengue, chosen by Ohno and Smirnoff, if they weren't eliminated, finishing them in 7th and 6th respectively.