“Dancing With the Stars” pro Alan Bersten on partner Jamie Lynn Spears and her early exit from show
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"Damn." A simple one word tweet summed up how Alan Bersten felt after he and partner Jamie Lynn Spears were shockingly eliminated from Dancing With the Stars on the Oct. 3 Latin night episode. After receiving a 16 out of 30 from the judges for their cha-cha, Spears and Bersten were given the boot, and some say it could be due to Jamie Lynn's sister Britney Spears' passionate fan base.
EW caught up with Bersten, 29, the day after the elimination that he says left him feeling "so bummed" and discussed if he thought the pop star's fans had anything to do with their elimination, his new fitness program Bers10 Fitness (get it?), the process of pairing pros and stars, and why he's grateful to be dancing on the show.
Riker Brothers photography Alan Bersten
The professional ballroom dancer, who got his TV start on season 10 of So You Think You Can Dance, began on Dancing With the Stars first as a member of the troupe and then as a pro beginning in season 25. He won season 28 with The Bachelorette star Hannah Brown and attributes the positive experiences he's had on DWTS to the celebs he's been paired up with. That also includes The Talk host Amanda Kloots, who lost her husband actor Nick Cordero the year prior to her competing on the show.
"I've been lucky enough to have such amazing partners and one of them, Amanda Kloots, she completely changed my life, she's just such a good friend," Bersten tells EW. "Dancing has this ability to tell a story and help work through so much trauma and so many hardships that you've gone through. One special moment was in Amanda's season where we got a dance for her late husband Nick. To me, that was a dance that will always stand out to me, not because it was the coolest dance or the best moves, but because it actually meant something, it was more than just a dance."
But dancing isn't Bersten's only passion, he also makes a conscious choice to stay fit. He's recently released his own online fitness program called Bers10 Fitness, a series of 10-minute videos that include 10 exercises. "I'm a huge believer of physical activity and how important it is not only for physical health but mental health," Bersten says. "It literally is for everyone and I think the main goal and focus of it is to just get up and get moving."
Bersten says in the future he'll look back fondly on the short, but meaningful time he had with Spears as his partner on DWTS. A particular rehearsal where Spears' kids came to cheer her on stands out in his mind and he says he hopes that she's proud that her kids were so proud of her. "Honestly, I think people would be so surprised at how awesome Jamie Lynn is," Bersten says. "She works so hard but there was never a hard day. People might assume things of people, but at the end of the day, she was such a sweet person and honestly, I'm going to miss dancing with her."
ABC Jamie Lynn Spears and Alan Bersten on 'Dancing With the Stars'
But rumors that Britney Spears' fans were intentionally sabotaging the pair's chances on DWTS were swirling around social media after the season premiere. #FreeBritney was gaining traction on X (formerly Twitter) once again this past week and Britney's legion of devoted fans seemed to want Jamie Lynn off the show in response to the sisters' public falling out over the singer's intense conservatorship battle and the Zoey 101 star's revealing book tour. As for Bersten, he says he's not on social media very much these days and he chooses to look at the bright side of things. "The more positivity in the world, the better, that's all I think. As long as people are healthy and happy, there shouldn't be any negativity."
Bersten says that being on Dancing is like being a part of a huge family, who all support each other and cheer each other on. He says that support starts from day one when the pros first meet their star partners. And yes, what you see in the premiere episode package is really their first meeting. "You don't even get to see each other in the hallways," Bersten reveals. "They'll put the pro in the room 30 minutes early, and then when your celebrity walks in, it is scary. It's like an arranged marriage, you're stuck with them for hopefully the next 10 weeks. I was profusely sweating meeting Jamie Lynn because it's so exciting."
According to Bersten, some stars actually put in a request for the pro dancer they want to be paired with. Sometimes their request is fulfilled, sometimes it's not. "They definitely take height into consideration," Bersten says about the pairing process for the show. "I think they take into consideration chemistry, are they going to mesh well together? Are they going to fight together?" And if someone requests him? "It makes me feel really good," Bersten says.
ABC/Andrew Eccles Jamie Lynn Spears and Alan Bersten
When asked what he thinks his most shocking elimination to date has been, he alludes to his and Jamie Lynn's recent send off, and how he wishes they could've performed a contemporary dance together at some point in the season. "The more you connect with the audience, the more people vote," he says. "So I really think even though there are shocking eliminations, it kind of makes sense, I really think the show is fair. I'm choosing to be grateful, grateful that I'm a part of the show, grateful for my fans, and I can't wait to see what's next.
Maybe the next season Bersten competes on he'll be able to perform his favorite dance, an Argentine tango, or perhaps he'll be paired up with another softball mom. To settle the recent debate between Jamie Lynn and DWTS judge Derek Hough, Bersten agrees with Hough: "Softball moms are definitely sexy."
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