Olympian Ilona Maher took the stage once again this week with professional dance partner Alan Bersten.
Olympian Rugby star and SI Swimsuit digital cover model Ilona Maher has been keeping us entertained each week this fall with her appearance on Dancing With the Stars, where she’s impressed her fans with her skillful dance moves and awesome personality. Alongside professional dancer partner Alan Bersten, the 28-year-old athlete has danced the rumba, the jive, and other popular dances. It's no surprise many have been rooting for her as season 33 continues to air, and last week's episode in particular was a positive one for the pair.
During Dedication Night on Oct. 15, Maher and Bersten performed a rumba to the song “My Way” by Yseult, resulting in an uproar of applause. Like the majority of the other pairings, the duo received a 32 out of 40. We're now onto a new week and DWTS is celebrating the House of Mouse this evening. With Disney Night on Oct. 22, Maher and Bersten chose to dance to a song from the beloved 2021 animated film Encanto, “Surface Pressure.”
Maher and Bersten danced jazz tonight and looked great doing so. Maher dressed in a Luisa Madrigal costume but with a twist, consisting of a white crop top with off-the-shoulder sleeves and a red bow, a blue skater skirt, and white sneakers. She also wore a red ribbon in her hair to complete the look. Hilariously, her pro partner dressed up as one of the village donkeys from the movie.
So far in tonight’s episode, Maher and Bersten have a score of 25 out of 30 after their first performance. Derek called Maher a “crowd favorite” and said the duo embodied the characters, though he admitted he wished Maher danced a little more. Here’s the judge breakdown:
- Carrie Ann: 9
- Derek: 8
- Bruno: 8
Tonight is a special night of DWTS, as not only did the pairs get to dance individually as usual, but they also performed another dance after being split into two teams at the end of the episode. Maher and Bersten danced to the song “Eye to Eye” from A Goofy Movie. We'll be updating this post with live scores, the elimination, and more updates.
To vote for Maher and Bersten before the episode's end, all you have to do is text ILONA to 21523. Voting closes during the final commercial break.
Ahead of tonight’s new episode of DWTS, Maher and Bersten took to Instagram to tease their Encanto performance and urge their fans to vote for them. As expected, fans flocked to the comments sections of the posts to share their love, with one even telling the Olympian: “If they ever make a live-action Encanto, you HAVE to be Luisa!” We agree.
Maher served as the SI Swimsuit digital cover star in September, just about a month after she and Team USA took home the bronze medal for rugby sevens at the Paris Olympics Games. An advocate for body positivity, Maher has been an incredible role model—this year in particular. In September, she provided advice for young women athletes, saying: “I think as women, sometimes our bodies are looked at as something to be objectified and our bodies are so much more than that, and sports can show us what they can do. So try it all out, also remember [that] strength is really powerful and your body is meant for a purpose.”
New episodes of Dancing With the Stars season 33 air every Tuesday night at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and stream on Disney+.
