Dancing with the Stars sixth season will start without pro dancer
Maksim Chmerkovskiy. However it’s not true that the hot dancer — who brought his celebrity partners Laila Ali and Mel B. to the finals in two consecutive seasons — is quitting the show. He just needs break. “He is part of the Dancing family, and he will be back,” says his rep.

Apparently the show’s difficult schedule had left him feeling burnt out. “After coming down from two seasons back-to-back, 10 weeks each season — 14 weeks, if you count all of the rehearsals — it puts a lot of pressure on a person and it takes its toll,” the dancer said.

However, fans will get their Chmerkovskiy fix: he will be in special group-choreographed dances.