Dancing With The Stars All Stars: Maksim Chmerkovskiy Quitting Show After 15 Years
Maksim Chmerkovskiy has announced that the next season of "Dancing With The Stars" will be his last one with the show.
The Ukrainian choregrapher, who has a reputation for being the "bad boy of the ballroom," admitted that when his contract expires at the end of next year, he will not renew it.
"What else do I have to do there after 15 seasons?" Chmerkovskiy told New York Post. "It makes total sense. The audience can't expect for me to want to stick around, and the producers can't expect for me to want to stick around."
Chmerkovskiy, who is nicknamed Maks on the show, told the newspaper that he truly enjoys being a part of the show but his age is a deciding factor.
"To be honest with you, at 32, I am at what-about-me time.'"
He revealed several "DWTS" professional dancers become frustrated over the years when their celebrity partners ended up in the spotlight more than their choreographers after they appeared on the show.
"Essentially, 80% of our job is to give somebody another push in their career," he said. "Or we make them into likable characters. But at the end of the day, they go off and they better themselves."
However, Maks has no hard feelings for "DWTS," one of television's hottest dance competition show.
"I wish them the next 50 years of success. But I have to do something else. I need to move on for me," he said.
The choreographer is pursuing a career on the big screen and has already had luck securing his first role. Chmerkovskiy will begin filming his first movie, a romantic comedy, in January. He is also considering creating a reality show with his brother Val.
Chmerkovskiy will pair up with actress Kirstie Alley again for the show's all-star edition when the season premieres on Monday, Sept. 24. The pair partnered up during season 12.
"Dancing With the Stars" premieres Monday, Sept. 24 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
