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
In September 2010, Chigvintsev joined Strictly Come Dancing series 8 as a professional dancer, where he was partnered with actress Kara Tointon. The pair achieved good scores in the first five weeks of 30, 32, 31, 32, and 37. In week 5, they were awarded the first 10 of the series by Alesha Dixon for their paso doble. In week 6 they were top of the leaderboard with their salsa. They also had good scores for the next five weeks of 36, 38, 35, 34, and 38. In week 11, they got their highest score of 39 for the Viennese Waltz and Rumba and got the maximum 5/5 for the swing-a-thon. Chigvintsev and Tointon made it to the final along with Matt Baker and Pamela Stephenson. The pair went on to win the competition, defeating Matt Baker and his partner Aliona Vilani, and being crowned series champions for 2010. Chigvintsev is one of four professionals to win the series as a first-time Strictly pro.

In 2011's Strictly Come Dancing season 9 Chigvintsev was partnered with Holly Valance. He and Valance made it to Week 11, the semi-finals, before being eliminated.

Chigvintsev's celebrity partner in the 10th series of Strictly Come Dancing was television presenter Fern Britton. They were eliminated in Week 6.

His celebrity partner in the eleventh series of Strictly Come Dancing was former Coronation Street star Natalie Gumede, who played Kirsty Soames. They reached the finals and became one of the runners-up, along with Susanna Reid and Kevin Clifton, losing to model Abbey Clancy.

Dancing with the Stars
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.

He was paired, for season 19, with actress Lea Thompson. The couple was eliminated in week 9 (the quarterfinals) and finished in sixth place.

He returned for season 20 and paired with award-winning singer Patti LaBelle. The couple was eliminated on week 6 and finished in 8th place.

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.

Chigvintsev returned for season 22 partnering with actress Mischa Barton. They were eliminated on Week 3 of competition and finished in 11th place.

For season 23, he was paired with Brady Bunch actress and author Maureen McCormick. McCormick and Chigvintsev were eliminated in week 7 finishing in 8th place.

For season 24, he was paired with former figure skater Nancy Kerrigan. On 1 May 2017, Kerrigan and Chigvintsev were eliminated in a double elimination along with The Bachelor star Nick Viall and Peta Murgatroyd.

For season 25, he was paired with WWE wrestler Nikki Bella. They were eliminated in week 7 of the competition in a double elimination only announced at the end of the show. This marks the third season in a row where Artem and his partner have left the show in the seventh week of competition and the second season in a row where they have left as part of a double elimination.

For season 26, he was partnered with Olympic snowboarder Jamie Anderson. They were eliminated in the first week of competition, tying in 9th place with Johnny Damon and Emma Slater. This marks the third season in a row where Chigvintsev and his partner have left as part of a double elimination.

For season 27, he was paired with Paralympic skier Danelle Umstead. The couple was eliminated on week 2 and finished in 12th place.

Chigvintsev did not appear as a professional on season 28, but returned for season 29 where he was partnered with The Bachelorette star Kaitlyn Bristowe. They went on to win the season.

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.