Introducing Dancing With The Stars Season 13’s New Pro Val Chmerkovskiy!!
Next up and last in our three new Professional Profiles this Season is the quiet, intense, mysterious, and passionate dancer: Val Chmerkovskiy. As with the other two previous profiles on Tristan MacManus and Peta Murgatroyd, I’m going to ask Courtney and Heidi for their thoughts and predictions at the end of this post and we’d love to hear yours too. Before beginning, I’d like to thank DanceInfo.net, Wikipedia, ABC Dancing With The Stars, I Am Val You Tube, and Val Chmerkovskiy Facebook for helpful information and photos for this post.
Let’s get right to it! Valentin Aleksandrovich Chmerkovskiy was born March 24, 1986 in Odessa, Ukraine. He is the son to Aleksandr aka Sasha and Larissa, and younger brother to professional dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy.
Val was just 7 years old when he first started to train as a ballroom dancer and ‘against his will’ mind you. But, Val worked hard regardless and after three years he competed in his first international competition The German Open. He was one of only 2 US couples to participate with his brother, Maks, being the second.
Val won first in the IDSF World Championship when he was 15 and became the first and last American to ever do it. At 19, Val had the privilege of snagging the Blackpool trophy which was an honor he only dreamed about at the time.
But at 23 years old, the rules of competing in Ballroom dancing started to change and for the worst according to Val. He kept competing with his longtime partner Daria Chesnokova (pictured above). Though after fighting the lack of motivation and the new rules to compete, Val decided to retire at 25 and thus came the greatest adventure to be offered to him next….a pro on Season 13 of Dancing With The Stars with first time partner and Italian Model Elisabetta Canalis.
This isn’t Val’s first gig on Dancing With The Stars. He helped to critique his brother Mak’s routines with his celebrity partner Laila Ali in Season 4. Also, in 2006, the two brothers had a dance off: Valentin and Valeriya against Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff. Val has also danced in several pro numbers over the last several Seasons. In Season 10, he did a country western themed routine with his brother Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Edyta Śliwińska and Snejana Petrova (seen above).
In Season 11, Val really steamed up the show with unforgettable and most memorable Dancing With The Stars performance (and one of my favorites of all time) with Mark Ballas dancing and playing his Violin to Britney Spears’s hit song “Toxic.” The two were the greatest rivalries once competing when they were kids, and now here they were battling it out in “strings” on a Dancing With The Stars results show (seen above). You could feel every inch of it which brings us to Val’s second love next to dancing which is making music for which you can view and listen to many of his songs at I Am Val You Tube. Below is his song “White Boy Boogie” which I love. Yes, white kids can rap…and Ukrainian kids at that!!
Just like his brother Maks, this special guy leaves you wanting more. Watch out World! This highly “decorated” competitor and powerhouse performer in multi-talented ways has only just began and we wish him much much success.
Ok, here is Courtney and Heidi with their thoughts!
Courtney: The dynamic between Val & his brother kinda reminds me of me and my younger sister – I’m the outspoken hothead, while my sister is the quiet, pragmatic one. I actually recall meeting (or, quite literally, bumping into!) Val several years ago at the Ohio Star Ball in Columbus. I was in the ballroom watching the amateur Latin competition, and got up to use the restrooom, which was located over near the “on-deck” area where the couples who were about to compete were lining up. While standing in the queue for the ladies room, a heavily tanned, heavily hair-gelled male Latin competitor brushed past me in quite a hurry and accidentally bumped me a bit harder that he likely intended to. He stopped, turned around, and quickly apologized in a soft Russian accent. “I’m so sorry, miss! Just in a hurry…my heat is starting soon!” It was Val! He smiled quickly and darted off, likely in seach of his partner Valeriya so they could line up for their event. The entire exchange lasted less than 10 seconds, but I immediately got the impression that he was a guy whose parents had raised him right – unlike so many of the other male competitors, who I often found to be cold, arrogant, and unapproachable. As for his dancing – in all the years of watching him compete, I always found Val to be exceptionally on-point with his technique & performance quality, especially in comparison to other competitors his age (*cough*MarkBallas*cough*), and perhaps even a bit better than big bro. He & his old partner, Valeriya, always had the best exhibition dances – he wasn’t afraid to be playful and a bit cheeky. Check out this cute jive exhibition they did at OSB back in 2008 – Val can be such a ham sometimes. 🙂 They also did a really sexy, slick cha-cha to Prince’s “Kiss”, which of course I cannot find on YouTube because the song is copyrighted :-(, but if you google it I’m sure you can find a clip of the performance. Overall, I’m excited to see just what Val can bring to the table – I just hope he adapts quickly to the “fluff” of DWTS, since many of the current pros on the show seemed to have an adjustment period when they first joined the cast. Real ballroom vs. DWTS is definitely a big switch to make!
Heidi: I think Val has the advantage of being Maks’ brother when it comes to adjusting to DWTS fluff versus real ballroom competitions – at least I hope so. I also hope to see him school Mark in music and dance once again. Hee. I also get the feeling that, while I don’t find him remotely attractive, I’ll end up preferring him to his big brother. I have not paid tons of attention to the pre-season media, but my sense is that Val is a bit more down to earth than Maks is – I could certainly be wrong, I’m not a Chmerkovskiy expert by any stretch of the imagination. I’ve said many times that I think that Maks sort of takes on the personality of his partner which is often a great thing (Kirsti), but it can also be very bad (Erin). I mean that he’s a bit of an emotional reflector, not that he’s being fake or anything (just to be clear). I wonder if Val also has that trait or if he’s more even keeled. Damn, I can’t wait till Monday!!! 🙂
Vogue, great job on this intro (and Tristan and Peta’s too).
Don’t know Val, of course, but I just get the feeling he’s less mercurial than his big bro. Maybe having Maks lead the way, “breaking trail” (so to speak), made it easier for Val to just concentrate on his music and dancing.
There’s a quiet intensity about him that may not have the same impact on screen as Maks’s flamboyance. Still, I’m really looking forward to seeing what the younger Mr. C. brings to DWTS. He’s got a lovely smile…hope he uses it to his advantage.
Great job, Vogue, on all these profiles! You are ah-mazing!!!
I’m interested in getting to know Val as himself and not so much as Maks’ younger brother. I really do hope he’s able to carve out a niche for himself on the show that’s independent of Maks. He’s such a great dancer, and having already become familiar with the show, I think he’ll adapt to the “fluff” fairly quickly. And he’s young enough to be someone that could be around for quite a while.
That first picture of Val is gorgeous! There’s a very sexy intensity in it, and I hope he brings that to the dancefloor!
Thanks Vogue for the introductions to the 3 new pros. What a lot of work for you and a treat for us.
Val certainly has the work ethnic of someone whose parents moved here to live the American dream. He sounds like he’s been brought up with manners, values, tenacity and a deep intensity to succeed. On paper, I like him a lot. Let’s see how that translates on the show.
I couldn’t figure out how Val could be Maks’ brother because I didn’t think they looked that much the same. But now looking at the side of his face in the first pic, I see it now!
Thanks Guys! You are so sweet! So glad you liked!!! <3 <3 xxx
I can't wait to see more of Val dance. I just love the way he "pictures" when he's holding a woman...whether he's dancing or not dancing. OMGGG
Cidra, "quiet intensity"....Magnolia..."sexy intensity" <<<
@Vogue, I guess “intense” is an adjective that suits Val. “LOL”
Hope DWTS also shows the more light-hearted side of Valentin, because I think it’s there. ITA — Loved Courtney’s story of running into Val.
Their parents definitely raised them right. What can I say, I love the Brothers Chmerkovskiy! 🙂
Me too Cidra!!!! 😉 Thanks again!
I’ve been watching Val almost as long as I’ve been watching Maks. He is an unbelievable entertainer & probably as good as Maks. My feeling is that Val is not as emotional as Maks, which enables him to be a little more calm than Maks.
Because at 6′, he is more compact than Maks, his feet are just a blur when he gets going. I think he will do extremely well on DWTS & cannot wait to see him perform.
Awesome article!
That Val has a lighter side is obvious from his rehearsal video with Elisabetta. But oh my, the way he appears to be breathing her in for the official photos does speak to intensity. Yowza! 😀
Elisabetta has the most gorgeous posture .. can’t wait to see them waltz. And tango! I sooo hope they get to stay in the competition for a long time.
Thank you so much for the above profile, pictures & videos, Vogue! Val is scarey-good on that violin and I think he needs to do an encore!
Val is Derek’s height or maybe even a tad shorter – from people who have seen him in person.
I believe Val actually said on Access Live when comparing himself to Maks, that he was 5’10”.
Yeah, evaine, that would put him with Derek in the average height category…although it seems Derek has gotten taller, which is odd. Maybe he is just standing straighter.
Wonton and Shep, thanks so much!! Glad you liked!! 😉 I think I need to include the word “intensity” in the profile somewhere. Great word to describe. He definitely is “scary good” on the violin. I agree with Heidi that he could teach Mark and thing or two about music.
And Heidi, it does seem like Derek is a little taller.
Derek has certainly gained mass – beautifully, I might add – but it seems unlikely that he’s grown taller at his age. Could it be that Ricki, being rather short, makes him appear to be taller?
Yeah, I doubt Derek has added height, but he’s finally reached the age where he’s filling out to his true “man” size. Up ’til now he was in that (adorable) “mannish boy” stage that some of the great Blues songs talk about.
I’ve thought Derek was getting taller before he was paired with ricki. It’s probably just his mass. 🙂