Is 'DWTS' Pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy Leaving?

It seems that Season 13 of 'Dancing With the Stars' could be a very unlucky one for fans of pro dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

After the finals last night AOL TV asked the bad boy of the ballroom if he'll be returning to the show when it comes back for its next installment (likely in mid-September.)

"I don't know," he shared. "It takes a lot out of you. When you invest that much of you into something that's supposed to be just work you [can] get misinterpreted. I don't know [if I'm coming back]. We'll see. Right now, I'm drained."

Chmerkovskiy, who joined the show in Season 2, has taken a break from 'DWTS' before, sitting out Season 6 back in 2008.

His current partner Kirstie Alley thinks Chmerkovskiy could have a bright future ahead of him as an actor.

"He's got good qualities," she said. "He's handsome, he's got a good voice and he's funny. He's got other qualities ... he's broody, he's deep. All the bad boy actors are like that. He could be a really great actor if he wanted to act."

Chmerkovskiy is mulling over his options for professional opportunities. "I have a great team of people behind me," he said. "They know how to make me do the right thing. It's going to be up to them."

Chmerkovskiy plans to open a Los Angeles area dance studio soon. He's one of the co-founders of the Dance With Me Studios, which has locations in Ridgefield, NJ, Manhattan, NY and Long Island, NY. "We're finalizing the deal [for the Los Angeles location] and it's going to be an amazing gorgeous place."

He also is going to dance again with Alley, sooner rather than later. The couple will perform on June 5 at the Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom in New York City. "It was supposed to be a small thing, an in-studio competition," he said. "Then Kirstie tweeted [about it.] It's going to be at a huge venue and will be a big beautiful event." (Tickets are available to the public. Check out the website for info.)

The Ukrainian-born Chmerkovskiy would also love to take some time off to visit his family. "I haven't seen my home since August," he said. "I want to make sure I do stuff for me because it seems to me that I do a lot of things for others."

Although Chmerkovskiy said plans to listen to his career advisers, he added that, in the end, "I'll do what's right for me."

Check out Chmerkovskiy and Alley go aerial with their freestyle stunts on 'DWTS' below. See more at TV Squad.

Source: http://www.popeater.com/2011/05/24/dwts-maksim-chmerkovskiy-leaving/

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