Val Chmerkovskiy reveals diagnosis after sudden ‘DWTS’ tour scare

Dancing With the Stars professional dancer Val Chmerkovskiy has revealed the diagnosis behind the health scare that forced him to miss a stop on the show’s live tour.

The three-time mirrorball champion worried fans earlier this week after posting a video from a hospital bed in Peoria, Illinois, saying he had been suffering from severe vertigo.

Doctors later diagnosed him with BPPV, or benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, a common inner ear condition that causes sudden dizziness and balance problems.

“So, I got BPPV, which isn’t too bad, thank God,” Chmerkovskiy said in an Instagram update shared with his 1.5 million followers.

“There’s no tumour in my brain, God forbid. And thankfully, it’s not related to my neck injury.”

The dancer said the condition had left him feeling as though he was “spinning everywhere”, prompting doctors to run tests and forcing him to sit out a performance during the ongoing Dancing With the Stars tour.

Despite the frightening episode, Chmerkovskiy said he was already feeling better and expected to return to the stage.

“I’m still having vertigo because of the BPPV diagnosis,” he said. “I’m still a little fuzzy here and there, but good enough to perform.”

BPPV is an inner ear disorder and the most common cause of vertigo, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. The condition can sometimes be triggered by head trauma or inner ear problems and is often treated with physical therapy exercises designed to restore balance.

The Dancing With the Stars live tour travels across the United States each year after the ABC competition series ends, bringing fan-favourite professional dancers and standout contestants back on stage.

This year’s lineup includes professional dancers Emma Slater, Pasha Pashkov and Daniella Karagach, along with a rotating cast of top performers from season 34.

The franchise is also expanding. In February, ABC announced a new spin-off titled Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro, which will search for the next professional dancer to join the show’s elite roster.

Chmerkovskiy has been part of Dancing With the Stars since 2011 and has won the competition three times.