Valentin Aleksandrovich "Val" Chmerkovskiy[a] (born March 24, 1986)[2] is a Ukrainian-American professional dancer, best known for his appearances on the U.S. version of Dancing with the Stars, which he won three times.
[3] His older brother, Maksim Chmerkovskiy (born 1980), is also a professional dancer who appears on Dancing with the Stars.
In 1996, Maksim and Sasha opened a youth-oriented dance studio in New Jersey, and Valentin was one of the students.
In 2001, Valentin and partner Diana Olonetskaya, 15, became the first American dance team to win a world junior championship title.
[3][9] In 2015, Chmerkovskiy began an on and off relationship with fellow DWTS dancer Jenna Johnson.
The students were: Valentin & Valeriya Kozharinova, Sergei Onik & Michelle Glazarov and Boris Leokumovich & Nicole Volynets.
He did a country western themed routine with his brother Maksim, Edyta Śliwińska and Snejana Petrova.
[14] He appeared on the season 11 results show on October 5, 2010, performing a music and dance duel against Mark Ballas.
While performing to the song "Toxic" by Britney Spears, Val played the violin and danced with Lacey Schwimmer.
In season 14, Chmerkovskiy was partnered with comedian and talk show host Sherri Shepherd.
For season 16, Chmerkovskiy was partnered with Disney Channel's Shake It Up star, Zendaya.
However, five days before the premiere, she withdrew from the competition due to a broken arm sustained in rehearsals.
Despite consistently earning high scores, the couple was surprisingly eliminated on week 6 and finished in ninth place.
For season 29, he was paired with cheerleading coach and reality television star Monica Aldama.