Maksim Chmerkovskiy is a Latin Ballroom dance champion, choreographer, Broadway star and actor. Maks first appeared on Dancing with the Stars on the second season as a professional dancer. Maks was on the series for 14 seasons and won the Mirrorball Trophy in 2014 with Olympic ice dancer, Meryl Davis. He left the series after the win but has returned to act as a guest judge and from season 23, much to the fans delight, returned to the dance floor. Known for being passionate, opinionated and vocal, he is regarded as one of the most successful, loved and well-known cast members from DWTS.

Maksim is originally from Ukraine and immigrated with his family to Brooklyn in 1994. He is Co-Founder of Dance With Me dance studios with eight high end social dance clubs nation-wide dedicated to first-rate dance instruction. Together with DWM instructors, Maks has produced and starred in Sway: A Dance Trilogy in New York and Miami.

Maks has appeared on multiple TV series including the upcoming Fuller House on Netflix and previously on General Hospital, Chasing Life and The Exes. He has appeared on Broadway in productions of Burn the Floor and Forever Tango.

Maks is married to Dancing with the Stars pro, Peta Murgatroyd and in January 2017 they had their first child, a son, Shai.

Valentin Chmerkovskiy is a Ukrainian-born professional dancer, author and television personality. A 14-time US National Champion and two-time World Dance Champion, Val rose to stardom as a fan-favorite professional and eventual two-time winner of the hit series Dancing with the Stars. He has since appeared on numerous television shows, including Netflix’s Fuller House and Fox’s Flirty Dancing, as well as served as a judge on the inaugural season of Dancing with the Stars: Juniors.

Val is the co-founder and owner of Dance With Me studios, a leading, nationwide network of dance studios with the mission of making dance accessible to all people regardless of skill level. Val is a nationally recognized dance educator and advocate for keeping kids active, healthy, and creative through dance. Val is a philanthropist who supports numerous charities, including the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the Children’s Hospital of LA and Pencils of Promise. He also spent time mentoring kids at the KIPP Scholar Academy in South Los Angeles.

In 2018, Val released his first memoir titled “I’ll Never Change my Name,” which detailed his life, career and experience as an Eastern European immigrant. As a classically trained violinist, Val has performed at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.

Val was born in Odessa, Ukraine to an engineer mother and marine merchant father and immigrated to Brooklyn, NY at 8 years old. He is fluent in Russian and English.

Peta Murgatroyd, the Two-time Mirror Ball Champion, first appeared on Dancing With The Stars in 2011 and over the past nine years has cemented herself as a fan favorite on the show, starring in over 121 episodes.

New Zealand born and raised in Australia; Peta has been dancing since the age of 4. Winner of national and international dance competitions, she excelled in Ballet, Contemporary, ballroom and Latin dancing.

In 2004 Peta joined the cast of Burn The Floor, touring globally and became the lead female dancer when it hit Broadway in 2009.

Dancing With The Stars success followed hot on the heels of Broadway and she won her first Mirror Ball in 2012 with NFL legend Donald Driver and her second in 2016 with actor and model Nyle DiMarco. It was through dance that Peta met the love of her life and now husband Maks Chmerkovskiy and in January 2017 they had their first child together, a son named Shai.

From the ballroom, to motherhood and the altar, Peta successfully balances family and career while developing as an entrepreneur, expanding and developing her tanning line Peta Jane further into skin care.