On June 5 and 6, Maks will be bringing his Sway production to Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. “That feels amazing. It’s a pretty legendary stage. To have gone from learning English and being an immigrant, to being able to put your own production in a place like Hammerstein Ballroom is a pretty big deal for all of us. We are very proud and very excited. We know it’s going to be an amazing show,” he said.
Maks will be joined with his brother, professional dancer Val Chmerkovskiy, Tony Dovolani, Olympic gold medalist Meryl Davis, and Paralympic medalist Amy Purdy. It will feature such acclaimed professional dancers as Peta Murgatroyd, Emma Slater, Artem Chigvintsev, Henry Byalikov, Jenna Johnson, and Serge Onik, among others. “We definitely don’t take it for granted. We are very responsible in trying to make it the best stage production that one can visit. We try to give people the best of ourselves,” he said. ”’Meryl called immediately and said that she wanted to do it again. Amy Purdy told me how much she misses dancing, and I invited her to do Sway with us. She was super-excited and she will have a blast as well. Our entire cast is amazing,” he added.
Maks continued, “We wanted to highlight the different personalities each one of us have. Tony is known for being a gentleman and his section talks about taking that step in the social atmosphere, and invite somebody to dance, and he shows you how. Val’s section is very urban. He was influenced a lot by Brooklyn and hip-hop industry. He is a brilliant musician, rapper, violinist and ballroom dancer. My section is very passionate. You know me as a person of high integrity, in terms of what I do. I am a very passionate guy. My section has elements of Miami and Latin-American vibes. It consists of beautiful dancing that is specific to the ballroom industry. We are so different, but our personalities shine through the different sections. It’s an acting gig for everybody, and there are clear story-lines. Audiences are fascinated with how much fun we have on stage.”
Previously, they performed Sway at The Space at Westbury, which was well-received by fans and critics. “We put on two performances of Sway, and we realized that we had a product. We were excited to do it again last December for eight shows in the same town. The community really liked and appreciated that we were there, so after we did that, we had to bring it to a huge stage like Hammerstein, so here we are. It’s a lot of fun. The whole thing is put together the right away. We can afford to have a show with our friends. The energy on stage is incredible. We are all doing it because we love to do things together,” he said.
On May 20, 2014, during the 18th season of the reality dancing competition, Maks was crowned winner of Dancing With the Stars, with his celebrity partner, ice dancer Meryl Davis.
Maks defined the word success as “Being responsible with chances and opportunities that you get.” “You have to absolutely see the moments, otherwise the opportunities will be wasted on you. If you are a responsible person with all of the chances that you get, then you are successful,” he concluded.
To learn more about Sway, visit its official website.
For more information on professional dancer Maks Chmerkovskiy, check out his homepage.
