He’s been a mainstay on “Dancing with the Stars” for almost as long as the show has been around, but Maksim Chmerkovskiy has decided to foxtrot elsewhere this time around.

The hunky dancer released a statement outlining his thought process behind bowing out of the upcoming sixteenth season of competition.

Maks began, "I just want to set the record straight to all of my amazing fans that I will unfortunately not be returning for this season of Dancing With the Stars."

"I've been a pro dancer on the show for about seven years now and am eager to explore other opportunities that have been made possible because of Dancing With the Stars. I'm going to take this time to dive into producing and acting, while fulfilling my sponsorship obligations."

"A big thank you to all of my fans for your never-ending support. I also want to thank the entire cast and production of Dancing With the Stars."

A rep for DWTS also shared, "We frequently rotate the professional dancers, so it is not unusual for them to rest a cycle. As we consider who will be matched up each season, there are a lot of factors that dictate which couples make the best pairings. We appreciate each of our dancers' dedication to the show, so this is a very difficult decision. Anna, Chelsie, Louis, and Maks continue to be a part of the Dancing With the Stars family."

Chmerkovskiy had previously declared, “What else do I have to do there after 15 seasons? It makes total sense. The audience can't expect for me to want to stick around, and the producers can't expect for me to want to stick around. I wish [the show] the next 50 years of success. But I have to do something else. I need to move on for me."