Alan Bersten (born 26 May 1994) is an American professional

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and

ballroom dancer Ballroom dance is a set of partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world, mostly because of its performance and entertainment aspects. Ballroom dancing is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and television. ...

. He was a contestant on the tenth season of ''

So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...

'' and is currently a professional dancer and choreographer on ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

''. He is the winner of

season 28 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

of ''Dancing with the Stars'' with his celebrity partner, ''

The Bachelorette A bachelorette is an unmarried woman. Bachelorette may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Bachelorette'', a reality television dating show part of ''The Bachelor'' franchise with numerous versions: ** ''The Bachelorette'' (American TV ser ...

'' star

Hannah Brown Hannah Kelsey Brown (born September 24, 1994) is an American television personality and former beauty pageant titleholder. She starred as the lead in season 15 of '' The Bachelorette''. Brown had previously placed in the top seven in season 23 ...

Personal life

Bersten was born and raised in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. His family heritage is Russian. He started dancing at the age of 7. 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 Hyperparathyroidism is an increase in parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels in the blood. This occurs from a disorder either within the parathyroid glands (primary hyperparathyroidism) or as response to external stimuli (secondary hyperparathyroidism). ...

. He underwent surgery the next day to remove his left parathyroid. Bersten returned to work after only a week of recovery.

''Dancing With The Stars''

Performances

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 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

. During the second week of

season 22 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

, Bersten danced a salsa with

Paige VanZant Paige Michelle VanZant (''née'' Sletten; married name Vanderford; born March 26, 1994), is an American mixed martial artist, bare knuckle boxer, professional wrestler, author, and model. She is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling, as a wres ...

, as VanZant's regular partner,

Mark Ballas Mark Alexander Ballas Jr. (born May 24, 1986) is an American dancer, choreographer, singer-songwriter, musician, and actor. Ballas is a professional ballroom dancer on the ABC program ''Dancing with the Stars''. He began competing on the show ...

, 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. In

season 24 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

, Bersten danced with

Heather Morris Heather Elizabeth Morris (born February 1, 1987) is an American actress, dancer, singer, and model. She played the role of Brittany Pierce, Brittany S. Pierce in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox musical comedy-drama series ''Glee (TV series), G ...

for four weeks while Morris's regular partner,

Maksim Chmerkovskiy Maksim "Maks" Aleksandrovich Chmerkovskiy ( uk, Максим Олександрович Чмерковський ; born January 17, 1980) is a Ukrainian-American Latin–ballroom dance champion, choreographer, and instructor. He is widely known ...

, was recovering from an injury. Bersten was promoted to a professional partner in

, where he was partnered with 1980s singer-songwriter and Broadway actress

Debbie Gibson Deborah Ann Gibson (born August 31, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Gibson released her debut album '' Out of the Blue'' in 1987, which spawned several international hits, later being certified triple plati ...

. The couple was eliminated in the second week and took 12th place. Bersten was also featured on the official promotional poster for the show that season alongside fellow cast member

Sharna Burgess Sharna May Burgess (born 21 June 1985) is an Australian ballroom dancer who is best known for being a professional partner and troupe member on the ABC series '' Dancing with the Stars''. She is the winner of season 27 of American televisio ...

. For

season 26 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

, Bersten was partnered with Olympic figure skater

Mirai Nagasu is an American figure skater. She is a 2018 Olympic Games team event bronze medalist, three-time Four Continents medalist (silver in 2016, bronze in 2011 and 2017), the 2007 JGP Final champion, a two-time World Junior medalist (silver in 2007 ...

. The couple was eliminated in the third week of competition, tying for 4th place with

Chris Mazdzer Christopher Mazdzer (; born June 26, 1988) is an American luger. He competed at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, finishing 13th on both occasions. At the 2018 Winter Olympics Mazdzer won the silver m ...

and partner

Witney Carson Witney Capri Carson McAllister (née Carson; born October 17, 1993) is an American professional Latin ballroom dancer and choreographer. She first gained attention in 2012, when the 18-year-old finished ladies' second runner-up in season nine o ...

and Jennie Finch Daigle and partner

Keo Motsepe Keoikantse Motsepe (born 24 November 1989) is a South African dancer. His dancing styles are Latin and Ballroom. He is known for being the first black professional dancer on the ABC show ''Dancing with the Stars''. Life and career Motsepe sta ...

. For

season 27 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

, Bersten was partnered with model and social media personality

Alexis Ren Alexis René Glabach (born November 23, 1996), known professionally as Alexis Ren, is an American social media personality, actress, entrepreneur, environmental and mental health activist, and model. Early life On November 23, 1996, Ren was bo ...

. The couple reached the finals and took 4th place. For

, Bersten was partnered with ''

'' star

. The couple reached the finals and were crowned the season's champions on November 25, 2019. For

season 29 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

, Bersten returned to compete again and is paired with

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

star

Skai Jackson Skai Jackson (born April 8, 2002) is an American actress who was included in ''Time''s list of Most Influential Teens in 2016. She is best known for portraying the role of Zuri Ross in the Disney Channel sitcom '' Jessie'' (2011–2015), which ...

. They were eliminated week 10, finishing in 5th place. For

season 30 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

, Bersten was partnered with The Talk co-host and dancer

Amanda Kloots Amanda Kloots (born March 19, 1982) is an American television personality, dancer, actress and fitness instructor. Since 2021, she has been a co-host of the daytime talk show '' The Talk''. Early life Kloots is the second youngest of five childr ...

. The couple reached the finals and finished in 4th place. For season 31, Bersten was partnered with country music singer

Jessie James Decker Jessica Rose James Decker (born April 12, 1988) is an American country pop singer. At age 15, after auditioning for and being rejected by most of the country labels in Nashville, Tennessee, Decker began working with Carla Wallace of Big Yell ...

. They were eliminated week 6, finishing in 10th place.

Season 25

With celebrity partner

Season 26

With celebrity partner

¹ Score given by guest judge

Rashad Jennings Rashad Andre Jennings (born March 26, 1985) is an American football running back and coach for the Fan Controlled Football Kingpens. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He also played for the ...

² Score given by guest judge David Ross.

Season 27

With celebrity partner

Season 28

With celebrity partner

¹ Score given by guest judge Leah Remini. ² Score given by guest judge

Joey Fatone Joseph Anthony Fatone Jr. (born January 28, 1977) is an American singer, dancer, actor, and television personality. He is best known as a member of the boyband NSYNC, in which he sang baritone. In 2007, he came in second place on the ABC reali ...

Season 29

With celebrity partner

Season 30

With celebrity partner

Derek Hough Derek Bruce Hough (; born May 17, 1985) is an American professional Latin and ballroom dancer, choreographer, actor and singer. From 2007 to 2016, Hough was a professional dancer on the ABC dance competition series ''Dancing with the Stars'', w ...

was absent so score was given out of 30. ²

Julianne Hough Julianne Alexandra Hough (; born July 20, 1988) is an American dancer, actress, and singer. In 2007, she joined the cast of ABC's ''Dancing with the Stars'' as a professional dancer, winning two seasons with her celebrity partners. After leavin ...

filled in for Derek Hough.

Season 31

With celebrity partner

¹ Score given by guest judge

Michael Buble Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

''Dancing With The Stars: Juniors''

Bersten joined the first season of ''

Dancing With The Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

'' spin-off series ''Dancing With The Stars: Juniors'' as a professional mentor. He formed Team Alan with junior professional dancer JT Church and 10-year-old professional skateboarder Sky Brown. Team Alan ended up winning the first ever ''Dancing With The Stars: Juniors'' Mirror Star trophy on December 9, 2018.

Awards and achievements

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bersten, Alan 1994 births Living people Dancing with the Stars (American TV series) winners American male dancers American people of Russian descent