Former 'DWTS' Pro Maks Chmerkovskiy Slams Season 34 Newbie Jan Ravnik for Lack of Experience

There are times when Dancing With the Stars fans question how fair it is for a celebrity contestant to compete if they happen to have prior dance experience. But when it comes to the pros they are paired with, it is far less common for viewers to question how well-suited they are for their roles in the show. That's what happened when former pro Maks Chmerkovskiy spoke out about Season 34 newbie Jan Ravnik, though.

Maks, who was part of the show as a pro for years, spoke to his wife Peta Murgatroyd on her podcast The Penthouse With Peta about his clear criticism of Jan joining DWTS. He questioned how much experience the dancer actually has, which has led some to wonder if Jan Ravnik has ballroom experience or not. In many ways, it's a must for the pro dancers on the show.

Jan might be most well-known for being a backup dancer for Taylor Swift on her Eras Tour, but he has more dancing experience outside of that. Jan has won titles for dancing competitions around the world, including Best Dancer of Slovenia. He is also recognized by the Slovenian Olympic Committee as a dancer for DanceSport.

Per The Gainesville Sun, DanceSport in the Olympics includes ballroom dancing. If Jan received recognition for his dancing at that level, then chances are, he has actual ballroom dancing experience despite any naysayers who might believe he was given his position on DWTS simply because he worked with Taylor.

To be fair, training and dancing on DWTS is a different world for a lot of choreographers and professional dancers who join the fold. Even if Jan has some ballroom dancing experience, he might not be as experienced in some of the specific dances that are required of the teams on the show. Regardless of his experience, though, his work with celebrity partner Jen Affleck kept them both in the competition past the mid-season mark.

When Maks spoke with Peta on her podcast about how he sees Jan as a pro dancer on DWTS, he claimed that he can see Jan's lack of experience when he dances with Jen on the ballroom floor. He even went as far as to tell his wife that Jan is seriously lacking in technique and the foundation needed to teach Jen.

Maks also pointed out how he could see Jan's lack of experience with the foxtrot specifically.

"Jan has absolutely no business being a pro on Dancing With the Stars," Maks said on the podcast. "There's zero foundation technique, quality, [and] understanding of the partnership."

Maks admitted that it's not Jan's fault if Jen isn't getting "taught the basics," as Peta said in the podcast episode. However, it looks like Jan does have some experience with ballroom dancing, even if a couple of fellow pros don't see it.