Artem Chigvintsev

**Artem Vladimirovich Chigvintsev** (Russian: **Артём Влади́мирович Чи́гвинцев**; born June 12, 1982) is a Russian-American professional dancer, specializing in Latin dancing.

Chigvintsev joined the cast of *Burn the Floor*. He performed both on Broadway and more recently in the West End in 2009. Chigvintsev joined *Strictly Come Dancing* straight from *Burn the Floor* in London in 2010–2013 in his first year, winning the show along with his celebrity partner Kara Tointon.

## Early life

Chigvintsev was born at Izhevsk, Udmurt Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, RSFSR, Soviet Union, to parents Vladimir and Anna Chigvintsev. He has an older brother, Anton. He moved to the United States in 2003, and began dancing with champion ballroom dancer Giselle Peacock. Chigvintsev auditioned to appear as a contestant on the first series of So You Think You Can Dance. Chigvintsev was eliminated alongside his fellow contestant Melissa Vella, but returned as a guest choreographer for season two.

## *Strictly Come Dancing*

### Series 8

He was paired with actress Kara Tointon. They went on to win the season.

### Series 9

He was partnered with actress Holly Valance. They were eliminated 11th.

1Score given by guest judge Jennifer Grey.

2Artem was injured so Holly danced with Brendan Cole.

### Series 10

He was partnered with television presenter Fern Britton. They were eliminated 5th.

### Series 11

He was partnered with actress Natalie Gumede. They were joint runners-up.

## *Dancing with the Stars*

### Season 18

In 2014, after competing on the eleventh series of *Strictly*, Chigvintsev appeared in the 18th season of *Dancing with the Stars* as a member of the Dance Troupe. Later that year, it was announced that Chigvintsev had been promoted to professional dancer for the show's 19th season, marking his exit from *Strictly Come Dancing*.

### Season 19

He was paired with actress Lea Thompson. The couple was eliminated in week 9, finishing in 6th place.

1 Score given by guest judge Kevin Hart in place of Goodman.

2 The American public scored the dance in place of Goodman with the averaged score being counted alongside the three other judges.

3 This week only, for "Partner Switch-Up" week, Thompson performed with Valentin Chmerkovskiy instead of Chigvinstev. Chigvintsev performed with Janel Parrish.

4 Score given by guest judge Jessie J in place of Goodman.

5 Score given by guest judge Pitbull in place of Goodman.

### Season 20

He was paired with award-winning singer Patti LaBelle. The couple was eliminated in week 6, finishing in 8th place.

### Season 21

On 19 August 2015, Chigvintsev was announced as one of the professional dancers for season 21 of *Dancing with the Stars*. However, when the full season 21 cast was revealed along with their partners, Chigvintsev was not part of the lineup. Chigvintsev wrote on his Instagram account that he would not be competing on season 21 due to a last minute casting change, but he would still dance with the pros in the ballroom.

### Season 22

He was paired with actress Mischa Barton. They were eliminated in week 3, finishing in 11th place.

### Season 23

He was paired with *Brady Bunch* actress and author Maureen McCormick. The couple was eliminated in week 7, finishing in 8th place.

1 Score given by guest judge Pitbull.

### Season 24

He was paired with former figure skater Nancy Kerrigan. The couple was eliminated in week 7, in a double elimination, finishing in a joint 7th/6th place.

1 Score given by guest judge Nick Carter.

2 Score given by guest judge Mandy Moore.

### Season 25

He was paired with WWE wrestler Nikki Bella. They were eliminated in week 7, during a double elimination, finishing in a joint 7th/8th place.

1 Score was given by guest judge, Shania Twain.

### Season 26

He was partnered with Olympic snowboarder Jamie Anderson. The couple was eliminated in week 1, during a double elimination, finishing in a joint 10th/9th place.

### Season 27

He was paired with Paralympic skier Danelle Umstead. The couple was eliminated in week 2, finishing in 12th place.

 2

### Season 29

He was partnered with *The Bachelorette* star Kaitlyn Bristowe. They went on to win the season.

### Season 30

He was partnered with actress Melora Hardin. The couple was eliminated in week 9, finishing in 6th place.

1 Due to Derek Hough's absence in week three due to a possible COVID-19 exposure, only three judges judged in week three.

### Season 31

He was partnered with reality star Heidi D'Amelio. The couple was eliminated in week 8, finishing in 8th place.

1 Score was given by guest judge Michael Bublé.

### Season 32

He was partnered with *The Bachelorette* star Charity Lawson. They finished in fourth place.

1Artem contracted Covid, so Charity danced with Ezra Sosa.

2Score was given by guest judge Michael Strahan.

3Score was given by guest judge Niecy Nash-Betts.

4Scores were given by guest judge Paula Abdul.

5Scores were given by guest judge Billy Porter.

6Scores were given by guest judge Mandy Moore.

## *So You Think You Can Dance*

In 2011, Chigvintsev was a choreographer on the British adaptation of *So You Think You Can Dance*. He choreographed a Viennese Waltz to "She's Always a Woman" by Billy Joel for Katie Love & Luke Jackson. He choreographed a Cha-Cha-Cha to "Judas" by Lady Gaga for Bethany Rose Harrison & Lee Bridgman. For the final, he choreographed a Tango to "I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)" by Grace Jones for Katie Love & Luke Jackson.

## Other work

In 2009 he appeared in the music video for Hush Hush; Hush Hush by The Pussycat Dolls, dancing with Nicole Scherzinger.

In 2011, Chigvintsev acted the part of lead choreographer in the CBeebies Christmas Pantomime, Cinderella.

Chigvintsev has also appeared in an episode of the TV show *The O.C.* and in the movie *I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry*.

In 2020, he made a guest appearance in an episode, “Sister, Sister and a Babymoon” of the reality TV show, *Keeping Up with the Kardashians* to teach Kris Jenner and her boyfriend ballroom dancing.

## Personal life

Chigvintsev was married to his dancing partner, Giselle Peacock, from 2004 to 2005.

He became a naturalized American citizen on September 17, 2014.

As of November 2019, he is engaged to *Total Bellas* star, and retired WWE wrestler, Nikki Bella, who was his celebrity partner on the 25th season of *Dancing with the Stars*. On January 29, 2020, Nikki and Artem announced they were expecting their first child together just a week and a half after Nikki's twin sister, Brie, was expecting her second child. On June 11, 2020, the couple announced they are expecting a boy. Bella gave birth to Matteo Artemovich Chigvintsev on July 31, 2020.