Maksim Chmerkovskiy Joins ‘Dancing With the Stars Ukraine’ as a Judge
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It’s been weeks of Maksim Chmerkovskiy hinting at a possible return to the Dancing with the Stars franchise. He announced that he will be joining the next season of Dancing with the Stars Ukraine as a judge. Beloved judge Grigory Chapkis passed away in June, so Chmerkovskiy has big shoes to fill.
Maksim Chmerkovskiy Finds His Way Back to the Ballroom for ‘DWTS Ukraine’
There were four seasons of DWTS Ukraine before the show went on hiatus in 2011. It returned with four more consecutive seasons beginning in 2017. The upcoming season is being referred to as Season 5. There was a COVID-19 outbreak during the last season of the Ukrainian show which led to an even bigger challenge for the contestants.
The Voice of Ukraine coach Oleg Vynnyk and his dance partner contracted the virus during the competition. Several other contestants were forced to perform remotely when exposed to the virus throughout the competition. This season, it has not been announced yet if there will be a live audience and safety precautions in place.
Chmerkovskiy has not been back in the ballroom since Season 25 when he competed with his celebrity partner Vanessa Lachey. He initially spoke out about wanting to take on a role other than a pro dancer on the U.S. version of the show.
“I’d love to host,” he told Us Weekly. “I’d fill any shoes on that show. I wish that I would’ve had that understanding when I first got to the show, we had a different process because I honestly had no examples of anything like this in front of me to be like, ‘Oh, that’s what it’s like.'”
Who Else Has Joined the Show?
DWTS Ukraine announced that the first participant of the new season is Eurovision winner Jamala. The second celebrity announced is Fahot from the hip hop group TNMK. Kazka vocalist Oleksandra Zaritska is the third contestant to join the show.
Over the years of the show, there have been some standout celebrities who joined the fun in the ballroom. Ukraine’s Got Talent judge Vladyslav Yama served as a professional dancer on DWTS Ukraine before taking on the role of judge. Former DWTS pro Dmitry Chaplin competed on sixth season of the Ukrainian version of the show.
Notable past judges include The Voice Kids Ukraine judge Monatik. He judged two seasons of the show before competing as a contestant. The Voice Kids Ukraine coach Natalia Mohylevska competed on DWTS Ukraine multiple times in the past. She also served as a judge for one season.
