aka Maks, is a Ukrainian-born, Latin Ballroom dance champion, choreographer, and instructor. He is best known as one of the professional dancers on the American television series, ABC's Dancing With The Stars, wherein he first appeared in its season two.

In 1997, he founded his first dance studio in New Jersey, the Rising Stars Dance Academy (RSDA). RSDA was focused on Youth Ballroom Dancing. Subsequently, he co-founded Dance With Me Dance Studios in Ridgefield, New Jersey, which caters to all ages and levels. Today, it has grown into 4 social dance studios - Ridgefield, New Jersey, Glen Head, New York, Manhattan (SoHo), New York and Stamford, Connecticut.

In addition to the dance studios, Maks is one the creators and directors of Dance Team USA, a non-profit, educational and charitable organization dedicated to recruiting, training and supporting future DanceSport participants. Through his company, Maksim Chmerkovskiy Productions, he produces and choreographs performances globally. Among his professional works, Maks choreographed Wynn Las Vegas' water-based show, La Reve. He developed the ballroom-inspired dance performances in this Franco Dragone production.