I had the pleasure of photographing dancer and choreographer, Val Chmerkovskiy at Millineum Dance Complex in North Hollywood for the May 2017 Cover of Inside Dance Magazine.

You may know Val from Dancing With The Stars. For season 20, he was paired with actress and singer Rumer Willis, earning his first mirrorball. For season 23, he was partnered with Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez, earning his 2nd mirrorball. For season 24, he was partnered with Fifth Harmony singer Normani Kordei. They made it to the finals and finished in third place. He has also partnered with Zendaya, coming in second place in season 16, behind Derek Hough and Kellie Pickler.

In addition to his Dancing With The Stars accolades, Val has won several dance championships. He and his partner Diana Olonetskaya, became the first American dance team to win a World Junior Latin Championship title. He is also a World Youth Latin Champion, a 2-time World Dance Champion, and a 14-time U.S. National Latin Dance champion !

Outside of his dance endeavors, Val helped build two schools in Ghana and supports numerous children's and educational charities. He is a classically trained violinist and has even performed at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center!

He is charming, energetic, and exudes confidence, but not in a cocky way. His beautiful smile and big personality are infectious. It was such a pleasure meeting and photographing him.

Val's hair and grooming by Anna Bernabe for Exclusive Artists. Images shot with Nikon D5. Please visit the website to see more images from the magazine. You can also check out some behind the scenes videos from the shoot via the link on my website here.