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

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and

ballroom dancer Ballroom dance is a set of European 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 tel ...

. He was a contestant on the tenth season of '' So You Think You Can Dance'' and is currently a professional dancer and choreographer on ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

''. He is the winner of season 28 of ''Dancing with the Stars'' with his celebrity partner, ''

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

'' star

Hannah Brown Hannah Kelsey Brown (born September 24, 1994) is an American television personality, model, author and beauty pageant titleholder. Brown first gained recognition after placing in the top seven in season 23 of '' The Bachelor'' (2019). She subs ...

Personal life

Bersten was born and raised in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. His family heritage is Russian Jewish. He started dancing at the age of 7. In 2018, Bersten was on tour with ''

'' 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 hyperparathyroi ...

. He underwent surgery the next day to remove his left parathyroid. Bersten returned to work after only a week of recovery. As of April 2025, Bersten is in a relationship with fellow ''

'' member

Emma Slater Emma Slater (born 25 December 1988) is a British-American professional dancer and choreographer. She is known for her appearances on ''Dancing with the Stars (U.S. TV series), Dancing with the Stars''. Early life Slater was raised in Tamworth ...

''Dancing with the Stars''

Performances

Bersten started working on ''

'' 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. 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 Deborah Ann Gibson (born August 31, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She released her debut album ''Out of the Blue (Debbie Gibson album), Out of the Blue'' (1987) at age 16, writing and largely producing the material. The a ...

. They were 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. For season 26, Bersten was partnered with Olympic figure skater

Mirai Nagasu is an American former competitive Figure skating, figure skater. She is a Figure skating at the 2018 Winter Olympics – Team event, 2018 Olympic Games team event bronze medalist, three-time Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, Four Co ...

. They were eliminated in the third week of competition, tying for 4th place with Chris Mazdzer and partner

Witney Carson Witney Capri Carson McAllister (née Carson; born October 17, 1993) is an American professional Latin dance, Latin ballroom dancer and choreographer. She first gained attention in 2012, when the then-18-year-old as the last female contestant in ...

and Jennie Finch Daigle and partner Keo Motsepe. For season 27, Bersten was partnered with model

Alexis Ren Alexis René Glabach (born November 23, 1996), known professionally as Alexis Ren, is an American model. Early life On November 23, 1996, Ren was born Alexis René Glabach in Santa Monica, California, where she grew up and was homeschooled. She h ...

. The couple reached the finals and took 4th place. For season 28, Bersten was partnered with ''

'' star

. They reached the finals and were crowned the season's champions on November 25, 2019. For season 29, Bersten returned to compete again and is paired with

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

star

Skai Jackson Skai Jackson (born April 8, 2002) is an American actress. With such accolades as a Shorty Award and a nomination for a NAACP Image Award, she was featured in ''Times list of the most influential teens in 2016. After early child acting rol ...

. They were eliminated week 10, finishing in 5th place. For season 30, Bersten was partnered with '' The Talk'' co-host and dancer

Amanda Kloots Amanda Kloots (born March 19, 1982) is an American television personality, dancer, model, actress, and fitness instructor. From 2021 to 2024, she was a co-host of the daytime talk show '' The Talk''. Early life Kloots is the second youngest of f ...

. They reached the finals and finished in 4th place. For season 31, Bersten was partnered with country music singer Jessie James Decker. They were eliminated week 6, finishing in 10th place. For season 32, Bersten was partnered with ''

Zoey 101 ''Zoey 101'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Dan Schneider for Nickelodeon. It aired from January 9, 2005, to May 2, 2008, spanning a total of 61 episodes across four seasons. It focuses on the lives of Zoey Brooks ( J ...

'' 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.

Season 25

With celebrity partner

Season 26

With celebrity partner

¹ Score given by guest judge Rashad Jennings 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.

Season 29

With celebrity partner

Season 30

With celebrity partner

¹ Julianne Hough filled in for Derek Hough.

Season 31

With celebrity partner Jessie James Decker ¹ Score given by guest judge Michael Buble.

Season 32

With celebrity partner Jamie Lynn Spears

''Dancing with the Stars: Juniors''

Bersten joined the first season of ''

'' 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 Juniors Mirrorball 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