Maks and Val Chmerkovskiy’s Cabaret Show Challenges Them in a “Different” Way Than “DWTS”

Image Source: Savor After Hours

Maks and Val Chmerkovskiy are foxtrotting their way to a total Napa Valley takeover this summer. The “Dancing With the Stars” pros recently kicked off their intoxicating wine-tasting cabaret show, Savor After Hours, at JaM Cellars Ballroom in Napa, CA, and POPSUGAR was on hand for the June 23rd performance, which featured a guest appearance from Val’s wife and fellow “DWTS” pro Jenna Johnson.

Savor After Hours is unlike anything Napa has ever seen before. It combines the bold and complex notes of wine with the beauty and grace of dance as Maks and Val immerse audience members in an intimate performance guaranteed to keep you captivated from start to finish. “It’s a little different here at Savor After Hours. Every performance you see throughout the show is inspired by the wine that you are served and get to enjoy,” Val tells POPSUGAR.

Every week, Savor spotlights a selection of wine from a local Napa Valley vineyard, and last week, John Legend’s LVE collection was the star of the show. “The performances are inspired by those flavors. Instead of tasting notes, you get to see a show unfold,” Val says. “Napa is a beautiful place and has incredible grapes and wines, and if we want do a show with wine, this is definitely the best place to do so.”

Open now through Sept. 3, Savor is currently exclusive to Napa, but Maks and Val hope it’s so successful, they can take it around the world. “We want this to live elsewhere,” Maks explains. “We want a product that lives without us and moves on and becomes a staple, maybe even in a place like this that loves and celebrates wine. Or, maybe in a place that just loves and celebrates novelties, like New York, Vegas, London, or the South of France.”

Image Source: MikkoMia Productions/Cheryl Mann

While “DWTS” fans can still expect the same razor-sharp precision and stunning artistry we’re used to seeing from Maks and Val, the brothers say this experience is very different from their time on the dance competition series. “On [‘DWTS’], you play a role and you are a professional, a partner to your celebrity, and outside of ‘DWTS,’ we get to be Maks and Val and have a brand that is just art based on our life,” Maks notes. “I’m just loving this show, this process because there’s no pressure.”

“What’s exciting is that [this is] very different. I get to do different moves. It’s about me squeezing every ounce of me as a performer rather than me as a teacher and a partner to someone else,” adds Val. “I’m of service to our show and it’s about putting on the best show I can, which I love cause it pushes me to grow.”

And Savor couldn’t have come at a better time for Maks, who welcomed his second child, a baby boy named Rio, with wife Peta Murgatroyd a little over a week ago. He admits, “With the hecticness of the current period, with the new babies and all this traveling back and forth, Napa is very calm and soothing.” Baby Rio now joins the couple’s 6-year-old son Shai. Meanwhile, Val welcomed his first child, son Rome, with wife Johnson this past January.

Tickets for Savor After Hours start at $44 and are available at www.savorafterhours.com. Fans can spend more time with Maks and Val by booking The Meritage Resort & Spa’s exclusive “Savor After Hours Ultimate Experience,” which includes a VIP meet-and-greet with the brothers before the show, transportation to downtown Napa, a $200 resort credit, tickets to the show, and a complimentary bottle of wine.