Alan Bersten | |
|---|---|
| Born | 26 May 1994 Minnetonka, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Dancer, choreographer |
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
Alan Bersten (born 26 May 1994) [1] is an American professional Latin and ballroom dancer. He was a contestant in 2013 on the tenth season of So You Think You Can Dance and is currently a professional dancer and choreographer on Dancing with the Stars . He was the winner in 2019 of season 28 of Dancing with the Stars with his celebrity partner, The Bachelorette star Hannah Brown. [2]
Bersten was born and raised in Minnesota. His family heritage is Russian Jewish. He started dancing at the age of 7. [3]
In 2018, Bersten was on tour with Dancing with the Stars when he began to have severe stomach pain. A blood test showed he had symptoms of a tumor on one of his parathyroid glands called hyperparathyroidism. He underwent surgery the next day to remove his left parathyroid. Bersten returned to work after only a week of recovery. [4]
As of April 2025, Bersten is in a relationship with fellow Dancing with the Stars member Emma Slater. [5]
Bersten started working on Dancing with the Stars in season 20 as a member of the troupe. He remained in that role for four more seasons until he made his debut as a professional partner in season 25.
During the second week of season 22, Bersten danced a salsa with Paige VanZant, as VanZant's regular partner, Mark Ballas, suffered a back injury during rehearsals. Bersten learned the entire dance routine on one day's notice and performed the dance for the live show the following day. [6] In season 24, Bersten danced with Heather Morris for four weeks while Morris's regular partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, was recovering from an injury.
Bersten was promoted to a professional partner in season 25, where he was partnered with 1980s singer-songwriter and Broadway actress Debbie Gibson. [7] They were eliminated in the second week and took 12th place. [8] Bersten was also featured on the official promotional poster for the show that season alongside fellow cast member Sharna Burgess. [9]
For season 26, Bersten was partnered with Olympic figure skater Mirai Nagasu. [10] They were eliminated in the third week of competition, tying for 4th place with Chris Mazdzer and partner Witney Carson and Jennie Finch Daigle and partner Keo Motsepe. [11]
For season 27, Bersten was partnered with model Alexis Ren. [12] The couple reached the finals and took 4th place. [13]
For season 28, Bersten was partnered with The Bachelorette star Hannah Brown. [14] They reached the finals and were crowned the season's champions on November 25, 2019. [2]
For season 29, Bersten returned to compete again and is paired with Disney Channel star Skai Jackson. [15] They were eliminated week 10, finishing in 5th place. [16]
For season 30, Bersten was partnered with The Talk co-host and dancer Amanda Kloots. [17] They reached the finals and finished in 4th place.
For season 31, Bersten was partnered with country music singer Jessie James Decker. [18] They were eliminated week 6, finishing in 10th place.[ citation needed ]
For season 32, Bersten was partnered with Zoey 101 actress and singer Jamie Lynn Spears. They were eliminated on the second week of competition and finished 13th; Bersten's lowest placement to date.
For season 33, Bersten was partnered with Olympic rugby player Ilona Maher. They made it to the finale and finished as the runners-up on November 26, 2024. [19]
For season 34, Bersten was partnered with actress Elaine Hendrix. [20]
| Season | Partner | Place |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | Debbie Gibson | 12th |
| 26 | Mirai Nagasu | 4th |
| 27 | Alexis Ren | 4th |
| 28 | Hannah Brown | 1st |
| 29 | Skai Jackson | 5th |
| 30 | Amanda Kloots | 4th |
| 31 | Jessie James Decker | 10th |
| 32 | Jamie Lynn Spears | 13th |
| 33 | Ilona Maher | 2nd |
| 34 | Elaine Hendrix | TBA |
With celebrity partner Debbie Gibson
| Week | Dance | Song | Judges' score | Total | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inaba | Goodman | Tonioli | |||||
| 1 | Foxtrot | "Lost in Your Eyes" — Debbie Gibson | 6 | 5 | 6 | 17 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Quickstep | "This Is My Time" — Amy Stroup | 7 | 6 | 7 | 20 | Safe |
| Argentine tango | "Havana" — Camila Cabello, feat. Young Thug | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | Eliminated | |
With celebrity partner Mirai Nagasu
| Week | Dance | Song | Judges' score | Total | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inaba | Goodman | Tonioli | |||||
| 1 | Salsa | "No Excuses" — Meghan Trainor | 7 | 8 | 8 | 23 | Safe |
| 2 | Foxtrot | "It's a Small World" — The O'Neill Brothers | 9 9 | 9 9 | 9 9 | 37 [a] | Safe |
| Team Freestyle | "Instant Replay" — Dan Hartman | 9 | 9 | 9 | 37 [b] | ||
| 3 (Semifinals) | Quickstep | "BO$$" — Fifth Harmony | 9 | 8 | 9 | 35 [c] | Eliminated |
| Jive Dance-off | "Johnny B. Goode" — Chuck Berry | — | — | — | 0 [d] | ||
Notes
With celebrity partner Alexis Ren
| Week | Dance | Song | Judges' score | Total | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inaba | Goodman | Tonioli | |||||
| 1 | Jive | "Good Golly, Miss Molly" — Little Richard | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | Bottom Five |
| Jive | "Shake the Room" — Gamu | 7 | 8 | 8 | 23 | Safe | |
| 2 | Argentine tango | "Swan Lake Suite" — Ray Chew | 8 | 9 | 8 | 25 | No Elimination |
| Salsa | "Booty" — Jennifer Lopez, feat. Iggy Azalea | 8 | 8 | 8 | 24 | Safe | |
| 3 | Contemporary | "How to Save a Life" — Ray Chew | 9 | 8 | 9 | 26 | Safe |
| 4 | Trio Tango [a] | "Move Your Body" — Sia | 8 | 8 | 9 | 25 | Safe |
| 5 | Foxtrot | "Just Around the Riverbend" — Judy Kuhn | 10 | 9 | 10 | 29 | No elimination |
| 6 | Jazz | "Candyman" — Christina Aguilera | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 | Safe |
| 7 | Samba | "Ladies in the ’90s" — Lauren Alaina | 9 | 10 | 10 | 29 | Safe |
| Team Freestyle | "Country Girl (Shake It for Me)" — Luke Bryan | 9 | 8 | 8 | 26 | ||
| 8 (Semifinals) | Waltz | "Water" — Bishop Briggs | 9 | 9 | 10 | 28 | Safe |
| Jive | "Yes" — Merry Clayton | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 | ||
| 9 (Finals) | Argentine tango | "Swan Lake Suite" — Ray Chew | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 | Fourth Place |
| Freestyle | "Head Above Water" — Avril Lavigne | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 | ||
Notes
With celebrity partner Hannah Brown
Notes
With celebrity partner Skai Jackson
| Week | Dance | Song | Judges' score | Total | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inaba | Hough | Tonioli | |||||
| 1 | Tango | "Super Bass" — Nicki Minaj | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | No elimination |
| 2 | Samba | "Miss Independent" — Ne-Yo | 5 | 5 | 5 | 15 | Safe |
| 3 | Jive | "Almost There" — Anika Noni Rose | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 | Safe |
| 4 | Foxtrot | "Ordinary People" — John Legend | 10 | 9 | 9 | 28 | Safe |
| 5 | Jazz | "The Power of Love" — Huey Lewis and the News | 8 | 8 | 8 | 24 | Safe |
| 6 | Cha-cha-cha | "Say So" — Doja Cat, feat. Nicki Minaj | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 | Safe |
| 7 | Argentine tango | "Everything I Wanted" — Billie Eilish | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 | Safe |
| 8 | Salsa | "Work It" — Missy Elliott | 8 | 9 | 8 | 25 | Bottom Two |
| Samba Relay | "Levitating" — Dua Lipa, feat. DaBaby | — | — | — | 2 [a] | ||
| 9 | Paso doble | "If" — Janet Jackson | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 | Safe |
| Salsa Dance-off | "The Cup of Life" — Ricky Martin | — | — | — | 2 [b] | ||
| 10 (Semifinals) | Cha-cha-cha | "Move Your Feet" — Junior Senior | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 | Eliminated |
| Viennese waltz | "Lonely" — Noah Cyrus | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 | ||
Notes
With celebrity partner Amanda Kloots
Notes
With celebrity partner Jessie James Decker
| Week | Dance | Song | Judges' score | Total | Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inaba | Goodman | Hough | Tonioli | |||||
| 1 | Cha-cha-cha | "Sweet Home Alabama" — Lynyrd Skynyrd | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 20 | Safe |
| 2 | Foxtrot | "Trouble" — Elvis Presley | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 25 | Safe |
| 3 | Rumba | "Goldfinger" — Shirley Bassey | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 26 | Safe |
| 4 | Jive | "One Way Or Another" — Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker & Kathy Najimy | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 31 | Safe |
| 5 | Tango | "Blue Jeans" — Jessie James Decker | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 29 | No Elimination |
| Viennese waltz | "Breakaway" — Kelly Clarkson | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 32 | Safe | |
| Hustle & Lindy Hop Marathon | "Hot Stuff" — Donna Summer "Jump, Jive an' Wail" — The Brian Setzer Orchestra | — | — | — | — | 11 [a] | ||
| 6 | Salsa | "Come Dance with Me" — Michael Bublé | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 41 [b] | Eliminated |
Notes
With celebrity partner Jamie Lynn Spears
| Week | Dance | Song | Judges' score | Total | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inaba | Hough | Tonioli | |||||
| 1 | Tango | "Don't Call Me Up (Zac Samuel Remix)" — Mabel | 5 | 5 | 5 | 15 | Safe |
| 2 | Cha-cha-cha | "Shake Señora" — Pitbull, feat. T-Pain & Sean Paul | 6 | 5 | 5 | 16 | Eliminated |
With celebrity partner Ilona Maher
| Week | Dance | Song | Judges' score | Total | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inaba | Hough | Tonioli | |||||
| 1 | Cha-cha-cha | "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" — Shania Twain | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Salsa | "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" — Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | Safe |
| 3 | Foxtrot | "Lady Marmalade" — Labelle | 8 | 7 | 7 | 30 [a] | Safe |
| Jive | "Cum On Feel the Noize" — Quiet Riot | 7 | 6 | 6 | 26 [b] | ||
| 4 | Rumba | "My Way" — Yseult | 8 | 8 | 8 | 32 [c] | Safe |
| 5 | Jazz | "Surface Pressure" — Jessica Darrow | 9 | 8 | 8 | 25 | Safe |
| Team Freestyle | "I 2 I" — Tevin Campbell & Rosie Gaines | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 | ||
| 6 | Tango | "Psycho Killer" — Miley Cyrus | 8 | 8 | 8 | 24 | Safe |
| Cha-cha-cha Dance-off | "Ghostbusters" — Ray Parker Jr. | — | — | — | 0 [d] | ||
| 7 | Quickstep | "Chuck Berry" — Pharrell Williams | 10 | 9 | 9 | 28 | Safe |
| Salsa | "Da' Dip" — Freak Nasty | 8 | 8 | 8 | 24 | ||
| 8 (Semifinals) | Paso doble | "Unholy (Orchestral Version)" — Sam Smith & Kim Petras | 9 | 10 | 9 | 28 | No Elimination |
| Viennese waltz | "Golden Hour" — Jvke | 10 | 9 | 10 | 29 | ||
| 9 (Finals) | Jive | "Shake a Tail Feather" — Ray Charles & the Blues Brothers | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 | Runners-up |
| Freestyle | "Femininomenon" — District 78 feat. Mona Rue | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 | ||
Notes
With celebrity partner Elaine Hendrix
Notes
Bersten joined the first season of Dancing with the Stars spin-off series Dancing with the Stars: Juniors as a professional mentor. [21] He formed Team Alan with junior professional dancer JT Church and 10-year-old professional skateboarder Sky Brown. Team Alan ended up winning the Juniors Mirrorball trophy on December 9, 2018.
| Week | Dance | Song | Judges' score | Total | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chmerkovskiy | Moore | Rippon | |||||
| 1 | Salsa | "Light It Up" — Major Lazer, featuring Nyla & Fuse ODG | 8 | 7 | 7 | 22 | Safe |
| 2 | Cha-cha-cha | "Just Dance" — Lady Gaga, featuring Colby O'Donis | 7 | 7 | 8 | 22 | Safe |
| 3 | Contemporary | "How Far I'll Go" — Auliʻi Cravalho | 8 | 8 | 8 | 24 | Safe |
| 4 | Jive | "Little Shop of Horrors" — Kidz Bop | 9 | 9 | 8 | 26 | Safe |
| 5 | Samba | "The Greatest" — Sia | 8 | 8 | 7 | 23 | Safe |
| 6 | Foxtrot | "Unconditionally" – Katy Perry | 9 | 10 | 10 | 29 | Safe |
| 7 | Charleston | "A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got)" — Fergie, featuring Q-Tip & GoonRock | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 | Safe |
| 8 | Argentine tango | "Thunder" — Imagine Dragons | 10 | 9 | 10 | 29 | No elimination |
| Jive and Foxtrot Fusion [a] | "369" — Rhett George | 10 | 9 | 9 | 28 | ||
| 9 | Salsa | "Light it Up" — Major Lazer, featuring Nyla & Fuse ODG | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 | Winners |
| Freestyle | "Underneath the Tree" — Kelly Clarkson | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 | ||
Notes