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After COVID-19 put a pause on live entertainment, your favorite artists are ready to hit the road and entertain audiences safely with brand-new tours and experiences. And regardless of where you are, we're offering an all-access ticket to every must-see concert of the summer. Welcome to E!'s Backstage Pass.
There's no dancing around the truth: Val Chmerkovskiy's new tour with brother Maks Chmerkovskiy deserves a perfect 10.
As the wait continues for a brand-new season of Dancing With the Stars, the professional dancers from America's most watched ballroom are hitting the road and treating fans to a special dance party. Titled "Stripped Down," the 19-city tour promises to be a unique experience that will bring guests closer to the boys than ever before. But if you ask Val, the title of the show shouldn't be taken too seriously.
"A lot of it is stripped down creatively, in the sense that it's a much more intimate experience," he exclusively shared with E! News. "It's just the two of us. We have two incredible female dancers coming with us, but it's a two-man show. It's an hour and a half of theatre, comedy, dance, spoken word. It's just a really feel-good evening and we feel really grateful that we're going to be the first act a lot of people are going to go out to theatre for."
While the brothers have collaborated countless times together on Dancing With the Stars, Val explained that there's a special connection that happens whenever he joins his talented family member on the road.
"I don't think we could bond beyond the bond we already have," he explained. "It's just about strengthening that bond. To be able to collaborate with someone that has been my partner on stage for close to 30 years, it's crazy…At first, it was great to perform together. Then, it became a feeling of finding my own individuality and now it's come full circle where I realized how special it is to be able to share the stage with my brother."
Once two eligible bachelors, Maks and Val are now happily married and focused more than ever on their family life. Maks is raising 4-year-old son Shai with wife Peta Murgatroyd. As for Val, he's focused on being the best dog parent with his wife Jenna Johnson.
When it's time to touring, however, Val admitted that married life has an impact on how much he commits too. "It's just a much more important consideration now than ever because now there's another human involved in my life who I have to consider. That's saying it lightly," he explained while attending Jeannie Mai x Owl's Brew Boozy Tea Party. "Hopefully, they're gonna be more humans in our life for both of us to consider and it changes your relationship with work."
That family bond is something both Maks and Val hope fans feel when they watch their show, which runs through August 21. While the Jonas Brothers sell out arenas thanks to their hit songs, Val argues that there isn't a brother duo that creates such a unique combination of dance, theatre, stand-up comedy and storytelling.
"It's a family show, because we celebrate each other," Val shared. "We celebrate camaraderie between siblings. We celebrate our love for our parents. A lot of this show is reflected on time and how it's passing us and to make time for our loved ones. This last year, that was really the silver lining that we learned is that there was a lot of anxiety and stress and a lot of loss, but there was also a lot of time to realize who you love and how you want to spend it once you have that time back."
If you ask Jenna, she's more than excited to see her husband hit the road for the rest of the summer. And while the Dancing With the Stars pro is pumped to be in the audience for a few shows, she can't wait to watch Val shine in front of his loyal fans.
"Val's number one fans are some really hot fierce grandmas," she joked to E! News. "So, I'm all about it. They really love him."
Val added, "I'm your grandma's favorite. Before Jenna, that was my best game. I didn't have to go beyond that. If I have your grandma's co-sign. It's a wrap."