Len Goodman
Goodman in 2007
Born	Leonard Gordon Goodman (1944-04-25) April 25, 1944 (age 68) Bethnal Green, London, England
Occupation	Television personality, dance teacher, dancer
Years active	1963–present
Spouse	Sue Goodman

Leonard Gordon 'Len' Goodman (born 25 April 1944)^[1] is a British professional ballroom dancer, dance judge, and coach. He is a leading personality on television dance programmes such as Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing with the Stars and runs a ballroom dance school in Dartford, Kent.^[2]

Early life and career[link]

Goodman was born in Bethnal Green,^[3] the son of Louisa (née Eldridge) and Len Goodman.^[4] He moved to Blackfen near Welling (then in Kent) when he was six years old and attended Westwood Secondary Modern School where he was a member of the cricket team.^[5] He started dancing at the age of 19 after a short time as an apprentice welder (for Harland and Wolff in Woolwich). He tried dancing only in an attempt to recover from a foot injury sustained while playing football.^[3] He turned professional, won various competitions, and retired from dancing after winning the British Championships at Blackpool in his late twenties.^[3] He is a recipient of the Carl Alan Award, in recognition of outstanding contributions to dance. In 2006 and 2007, he was nominated for the Emmy Award in the Outstanding Reality/Competition Program category.^[1]

As of 2011, he appears as head judge on the television dance competition Strictly Come Dancing for the BBC in the UK and one of three judges on its American adaptation, Dancing with the Stars. He has appeared in all series of each programme since 2004 and 2005 respectively.

In October 2011 Goodman appeared on the 2011 series of the UK's celebrity genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are?,^[6] in which he discovered that one of his maternal ancestors was a silk-weaver who died a pauper in the Bethnal Green workhouse. His great great grandfather Wincenty Sosnowski came from Poland,^[7] where he fought for freedom in the anti-tsarist November Uprising^[8] for which he was awarded Virtuti Militari, Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage.^[9]

For the 100th anniversary of the voyage and sinking of RMS Titanic, Goodman hosted a three-part BBC One documentary, shown from 30 March - 9 April 2012. It capitalises on his experience as a welder at Harland and Wolff. It was broadcast in the United States by PBS.^[10] Len interviewed descendants of survivors and introduced viewers to memorials and significant sites in the United Kingdom.

Len Goodman on the cover of Dartford Living, October 2008

Personal life[link]

He married his dancing partner Cherry Kingston on 27 April 1972, but they were later divorced.^[11] He has a son, James William Goodman (born 1981)^[2] who is currently teaching dance at the Goodman Dance Centre. His second wife Lesley (mother of James) also taught dancing at his dance schools in Dartford and Gravesend. He is currently married to his third wife, Sue,^[11] who is 37 years his junior. He appeared on the BBC radio programme Desert Island Discs in June 2011.

Goodman is a staunch West Ham United fan and was featured on the BBC football magazine show Football Focus on 26 September 2009.^[12]

Goodman was diagnosed with prostate cancer in March 2009,^[13] which was treated surgically at a London hospital.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Len Goodman

• Official website
• James Goodman Dance Website
• Goodman bio at his own Len Goodman's Best Of... site
• Goodman bio at BBC site
• Goodman bio at ABC's Dancing with the Stars site
• Interview with Len Goodman in local Dartford Living Magazine
• Len Goodman at the Internet Movie Database
• Len offers his advice on public speaking from BBC2's The Speaker
• Goodman celebrates 25 years hosting competitions at Pontin's

Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Maksim Chmerkovskiy on May 2, 2007
Born	Maksim Aleksandrovich Chmerkovskiy (1980-01-17) January 17, 1980 (age 32) Odessa, Ukraine
Occupation	Dancer Choreographer Instructor

Maksim (Maks) Aleksandrovich Chmerkovskiy (Ukrainian: Максим Олекса́ндрович Чмерковський, Maksym Oleksándrovych Čmerkovsʹkyj, pronounced [mɑkˈsɪm olɛkˈsɑndroβ̞ɪtʃ ˈtʃmɛrkou̯sʲkɪj]; Russian: Максим Александрович Чмерковский; born January 17, 1980) is a Ukrainian-American Latin Ballroom dance champion, choreographer, and instructor. He is best known as one of the professional dancers on the American television series Dancing with the Stars, on which he first appeared in season two. In his ten appearances on the show, Chmerkovskiy has made it to the final round four times, with two runner-up and two third place finishes.

Early life[link]

Born on January 17, 1980, in Odessa (Ukraine) to Aleksandr and Larisa Chmerkovskiy, he began dancing at the age of four. His brother, Valentin Chmerkovskiy, is also a champion dancer.^[1] His father is Jewish and his mother is Christian.^[2][3] Chmerkovskiy's Ukrainian heritage was referenced on an episode of Dancing with the Stars.^[4]

The challenges of immigration for Chmerkovskiy and his family included financial and language barriers. A skiing accident as a child broke Chmerkovskiy's right leg. Doctors informed him that there would be difficulties with his leg and that dancing might not be possible.^[5] He made a successful recovery and went on to become a professional Latin Ballroom dancer.

Chmerkovskiy owns four dance studios in the New York City area, one of which is the Rising Stars Dance Academy (RSDA).^[6] The other three studios are social dance studios located in Ridgefield, New Jersey, and Glen Head, New York, as well as the Soho neighborhood of Manhattan. He has been a resident of Edgewater, New Jersey.^[7]

Chmerkovskiy is one of the creators and directors of Dance Team USA, a non-profit educational and charitable organization dedicated to recruiting, supporting, and training future DanceSport participants. This sport is particularly popular with Eastern European families. Through his company Maksim Chmerkovskiy Productions, he organizes performances globally.

A ballroom and DanceSport choreographer, among his professional works is the Wynn Las Vegas's water-based show Le Rêve.^[8] He implemented ballroom-inspired numbers in the Franco Dragone production.

[edit] Dancing with the Stars

Chmerkovskiy first appeared in the 2nd season of the ABC series Dancing with the Stars partnered with actress Tia Carrere. They finished in sixth place. The following season, he and partner singer Willa Ford came in seventh place. Chmerkovskiy returned to Dancing with the Stars in March 2007 for Season 4, this time partnered with boxer Laila Ali, the daughter of Muhammad Ali. They made it to the finals and finished in third place. In Season 5 of Dancing with the Stars, he was partnered with Mel B and had his best finish to date; the couple received second place. Chmerkovskiy did not participate in Season 6, although he and former partner Mel B made an appearance for the 100th episode.

He returned for the show's 7th season, this time paired with two-time Olympic volleyball gold medalist, Misty May-Treanor. Chmerkovskiy and May-Treanor were forced to withdraw from the competition in Week 3 on October 6, 2008. During a practice for their jive, May-Treanor ruptured her Achilles tendon and required surgery. Her withdrawal gave them a finish in tenth place.

On February 9, 2009, on Good Morning America it was announced that he would be paired with Denise Richards for the eighth season of Dancing with the Stars. They were eliminated second in the competition, on March 24, 2009, giving the pair a finish of 12th place. In the ninth season, he was paired with actress Debi Mazar, during which they were eliminated 4th. In season 10, Chmerkovskiy, returning for his 8th season, was partnered with Erin Andrews.^[9] They ended up coming in 3rd place during the two hour finale on May 25, 2010.

For season 11, Chmerkovskiy partnered with singer and actress, Brandy. They made it to the semi-finals but were eliminated on November 16, 2010, giving them a 4th place finish.^[10] For Season 12, he was paired with actress Kirstie Alley. On week 3, his leg gave out causing her to fall heavily on him, earning 21 out of 30. The next week, Alley's shoe fell off during their routine. Judge Carrie Ann Inaba called Alley The Queen of the Unexpected Mishap; they earned 22 out of a possible score of 30. They made it to the finals and finished in second place.

For season 13, he was partnered with Hope Solo and they finished in 4th place.

For season 14, he is partnered with actress Melissa Gilbert. In week 4, while performing the paso doble, Gilbert hit her head on the dance floor and suffered a mild concusion. She was rushed to the hospital and was unable to be at the results show the following night due to recovering. The couple was called safe. Chmerkovskiy also suffered a injury. He pulled a muscle in his shoulder. However, he told host Tom Bergeron on the results show that he was okay. The couple was eliminated four weeks later, finishing in 5th place.

Dancing With the Stars performances[link]

• Season 4 - With celebrity partner: Laila Ali (Average - 27.0)

• Season 5 - With celebrity partner: Mel B (Average - 27.6)

• Season 7 - With celebrity partner: Misty May-Treanor (Average - 21.0)

• Season 8 - With celebrity partner: Denise Richards (Average - 18.3)

• Season 9 - With celebrity partner: Debi Mazar (Average - 18.0)

• Score was awarded by stand in judge Baz Luhrmann.

• Season 10 - With celebrity partner: Erin Andrews (Average - 25.1)

• Season 11 - With celebrity partner: Brandy (Average - 26.3)

• Season 12 - With celebrity partner: Kirstie Alley (Average - 24.7)

• Season 13 - With celebrity partner: Hope Solo

• Season 14 - With celebrity partner: Melissa Gilbert