Val Chmerkovskiy flashes a grin as he returns to DWTS rehearsals once his ban ends

Val Chmerkovskiy is back in the ballroom. The Dancing with the Stars pro showed up for rehearsal in Los Angeles on Wednesday, the first day the show let him return after his brief suspension.

All smiles, no answers

A photographer waiting outside the studio tried to ask him about the punishment. Chmerkovskiy did not take the bait.

He grinned for the cameras instead. Before heading through the door, he paused so a handful of admirers could grab selfies with him.

The veteran dancer was most likely heading in to work with his celebrity partner this season, Jenna Dewan.

How he ended up benched

The trouble started earlier this month with a post he shared online. In it he hinted that he had come close to slapping judge Carrie Ann Inaba after she was tough on a routine by his wife, Jenna Johnson, who dances with actor Harry Shum Jr.

Inaba took her concerns to the producers. An investigation followed.

Chmerkovskiy was told the production company had to stick to its own rules. The result was a one-episode suspension.

Saying sorry

He owned up to what he wrote. He apologized to Inaba in public as well as in private, then told fans plainly that he had made a mistake.

Jenna Dewan held her own

His partner did not miss a beat during his time away. Dewan danced with fill-in pro Alan Bersten in a routine she dedicated to her mother, Nancy. The judges gave the pair 37 out of 40.

Now Chmerkovskiy seems ready to leave the drama behind and get back to the dance floor.