Zendaya and DWTS Val Chmerkovskiy delight St. Mary’s Kids with a surprise visit

The children of St. Mary’s Hospital for Children, New York City’s only post-acute rehabilitation hospital for children with medically complex conditions, were pleasantly surprised today when multi-talented Disney Channel actress and singer Zendaya Coleman and Valentin ‘Val’ Chmerkovskiy from ABC’s top-rated show Dancing with the Stars made an impromptu visit. The duo, who partnered in Season 16 of DWTS, spent the morning getting to know St. Mary’s Kids.

Zendaya’s visit was particularly exciting for the tweens and younger patients who recognized the famous actress from the hit Disney Channel series “Shake It Up!” in which she stars as Raquel “Rocky” Blue, one half of the comedic duo of young dancers trying to dance her way to stardom. In addition to acting, she has released a full-length album and in 2013 was cast on Dancing with the Stars, becoming the show’s youngest contestant at sixteen years old. She and partner, Val became crowd favorites and finished in second place.

Today’s visit was the third for Val, who quickly became a special and favorite guest after he participated in St. Mary’s own version of Dancing with the Stars held last year. St. Mary’s Kids are already looking forward to his next visit, and after spending time with Zendaya, can’t wait for her to return.