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‘DWTS’ Maks and Val talk family and a new summer dance tour – Metro US

‘DWTS’ Maks and Val talk family and a new summer dance tour

‘DWTS’ Maks and Val talk family and a new summer dance tour
Michael Rosenthal

Maksim and ValentinChmerkovskiy have become household names since joining “Dancing with the Stars” as dance instructors in 2005 and 2011, respectively. The brothers come from humble beginnings in the former Soviet Union and immigrated to the United States in 1994.

Dancing since they were children, Maks and Val have had huge success in their career going from running a dance studio in New Jersey to serving as dance instructors on “Dancing with the Stars.” Maks left the show in 2015 and continues as a guest judge while Val is preparing for the upcoming season. The brothers have also expanded their studios to serve seven locations in the tri-state area and Texas. Now the brothers are ready to perform their way. We get the scoop from both guys on what to expect:

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Brotherly love
The Chmerkovskiy brothers take their dancing act on the road with their new tour “Maks and Val Live on Tour: Our Way.” The siblings have used their own story as inspiration for the tour. Comparing his experience on “DWTS” to their new tour, Val says “It’s nothing like working with your brother, with your family, to tell a story that’s so personal to you.”

Working as a family was an incentive for the dancing brothers. Maks and Val will stress the importance of family and their upbringing throughout their show. “We’re so close. We had bunk beds til I was in my mid-twenties,” Maks says. They also cite their parents as vital to their success. Maks was put in dance lessons in the USSR and continued when the family moved to Brooklyn. Val followed in his brother’s footsteps, learning steps from Maks until he began receiving official training himself. “We want to do our best not to let them down,” Maks says.

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Way more than dancing
This tour, which includes 10 other dancers, is also a chance to showcase their other skills. “It’s storytelling, it’s dance, it’s acting. It’s spoken word. It’s going to be music, original music,” says Val, who was trained as a classical violinist,”It’s a chance to showcase how much more there is to us outside of ‘DWTS.'” Another opportunity the show affords them: showing their true selves. Maks says a surprise is that the audience will finally know he’s “actually nicer than Val.”

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The brothers can do more than fancy footwork. Both Maks and Val guest starred on an episode of “Fuller House” on Netflix. Acting is something both brothers are keen to pursue in the future. “‘Fuller House’ was an amazing opportunity and not to capitalize on these opportunities would be a sin,” says Maks.

Whether it’s acting, dancing or music, the brothers remember their roots and are happy to see where their career takes them. Maks says, “As they say ‘Carpe diem’. We’re carpe-ing the hell out of the diem.”