Maksim Chmerkovskiy - Early Life

Early Life

Born on January 17, 1980, in Odessa (Ukraine) to Aleksandr and Larisa Chmerkovskiy, he began dancing at the age of four. His brother, Valentin Chmerkovskiy, is also a champion dancer. Chmerkovskiy's Ukrainian heritage was referenced on an episode of Dancing with the Stars.

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. He made a successful recovery and went on to become a professional Latin Ballroom dancer. The details of his recovery were revealed on Celebrity Ghost Stories.

Chmerkovskiy owns four dance studios in the New York City area, one of which is the Rising Stars Dance Academy (RSDA). The other three studios are social dance studios located in Ridgefield, New Jersey, and Glen Head, New York, as well as the Soho neighborhood of Manhattan. He very recently opened yet another studio in Stamford, Connecticut. He has been a resident of Edgewater, New Jersey.

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, he organizes performances globally.

A ballroom and DanceSport choreographer, among his professional works is the Wynn Las Vegas's water-based show Le Rêve. He implemented ballroom-inspired numbers in the Franco Dragone production.