Jenna Dewan is set to walk onto the Dedication Night floor on Tuesday’s episode of Dancing with the Stars with a partner she didn’t start the season with, but he’s no stranger to ballroom dancing or fans of the show. That’s because Alan Bersten has become the unofficial back-up dancer. Every few seasons a pro gets hurt, gets sick, or gets benched for some reason. That’s apparently when a producer calls Bersten to get back on the dance floor. Dewan is the fifth celebrity he’s carried through a mid-season scramble, and his track record indicates that she’s in very good hands.
Why Alan Bersten is dancing with Jenna Dewan on Dedication Night
Hosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough with the Season 35 cast of “Dancing with the Stars,” including Jenna Dewan, who dances with Alan Bersten on Dedication Night.
(Disney)Val Chmerkovskiy is sitting out one week over a since-deleted social media post about judge Carrie Ann Inaba, a situation I broke down in my Dedication Night preview. BBC Studios released a statement and confirmed that Bersten would partner with Jenna Dewan for a Viennese waltz dedicated to her mom, Nancy, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Chmerkovskiy is seemingly fine with this because he wrote on Instagram that the last thing he would want is to “become a distraction from an important week.”
Jenna Dewan and Alan Bersten posted a rehearsal clip to the show’s Instagram Story on Sunday, and Dewan greeted fans with, “Hi everybody, it’s Dedication Night.” You can see them on the episode that airs live Tuesday, October 20, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+.
The one-day salsa that started it all
UFC fighter Paige VanZant tied for first place in Week 2 of Season 22 after Alan Bersten learned her salsa in a single day.
(Humberto Vidal / Shutterstock.com)In March 2016, Alan Bersten was still a troupe dancer when Mark Ballas slipped a disc in dress rehearsal, one day before his salsa with UFC fighter Paige VanZant. Bersten quickly learned the full routine Ballas had choreographed, and the pair tied for first place that week. According to UFC.com, Carrie Ann Inaba jumped out of her chair and told them, “You destroyed that number!”
Four weeks with Heather Morris and a ‘promotion’ from Maks
Alan Bersten joined the “Dancing with the Stars” troupe in Season 20 and earned a full-time pro spot in Season 25 after filling in for Maksim Chmerkovskiy.
(Disney/Ser Baffo)A year later, Maksim Chmerkovskiy suffered a calf injury before the second week of Season 24, and Bersten spent four weeks dancing with Heather Morris. A highlight of their partnership was a “Toxic” tango he choreographed himself. When Maks returned and jokingly fired him on live TV, Bersten told Entertainment Tonight, “Last week he promoted me; this week he fired me.” That fall, Maks missed a Season 25 show with Vanessa Lachey, and Bersten took the floor again. Maks posted on Instagram, “Thank you @alanbersten for doing a great job stepping in for me…..again!” as ET reported.
He’s covered for Val before, too
On Halloween Night 2022, Val tested positive for COVID-19. Bersten, by now a pro dancer who was eliminated the week before with Jessie James Decker, learned an Argentine tango to “Shivers” and danced it with Gabby Windey. In the Instagram video announcing the news, Val said, “Alan’s going to do a great job.” Chmerkovskiy came back when he recovered, and he and Windey went on to finish the season as runners-up.
From mirrorball champion to this season’s early exit
Alan Bersten with girlfriend and fellow pro Emma Slater, who is still in the competition with Jackson Olson.
(Disney/Ser Baffo)Alan Bersten became a full-time member of the Dancing with the Stars cast as a pro dancer in Season 25, which premiered on September 18, 2017. Two years later, Bersten finally won his own Mirrorball trophy in November 2019 with Hannah Brown, closing Season 28 with a perfect-score freestyle, reported Variety. Minutes after the win, he told ET, “Oh, I cried. I cried like a baby.”
This fall brought nearly the opposite result. He and Giada De Laurentiis were eliminated in the second week of the competition after a 12-out-of-30 salsa, and she described him afterward as “a loving partner” on an Instagram video she posted to thank fans for all their support. His girlfriend, fellow pro dancer Emma Slater, told TV Insider, “I know Alan feels really proud of her.”
What to watch for on Tuesday
Alan Bersten performs in a pro number. Since his Week 2 elimination, he’s stayed in the ballroom dancing in group routines, which kept him show-ready for Dedication Night.
(Disney/Eric McCandless)Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy topped the leaderboard last week with a 36, so the stakes for a seamless handoff are high. Watch the frame and the rise and fall through the Viennese waltz, two fundamentals guest judge Kym Johnson rewards. Bersten has made partner swaps look effortless before, and the Dedication Night waltz for Dewan’s mom is one of the most anticipated dances of the night. Many fans have commented wishing them a great dance.
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