Maksim "Maks" Aleksandrovich Chmerkovskiy is a Ukrainian Latin Ballroom dance champion, choreographer, Broadway performer, and actor . He is widely known as one of the professional dancers on the American television series Dancing with the Stars, on which he first appeared in season two. In 14 appearances on the show, Chmerkovskiy made it to the final round four times, with two runner-up and two third place finishes.On May 20, 2014, Chmerkovskiy, paired with Olympic ice dancer Meryl Davis, won his first Dancing with the Stars title.Following his win with Davis, Maksim announced his retirement from the show.Maksim owns four dance studios in greater New York City. The three studios - Dance With Me USA- are social dance studios located in Ridgefield, New Jersey, and Long Island, New York, as well as the Soho neighborhood of Manhattan. He recently opened another studio in Stamford, Connecticut. He is also the founder of the Rising Stars Dance Academy in NYC.Maksim appeared on the TV Land sitcom "The Exes" in July 2012. He also appeared on the ABC soap General Hospital in March 2013 playing the role of handyman Anton Ivanov, who danced with Kelly Monaco's character Sam Morgan during the Nurses' Ball.In July 2013 Maksim made his second stint on the Broadway production of "Forever Tango . He first appeared on Broadway in the ballroom fusion production "Burn The Floor" in 2009-2010.