WATCH: Ilona Maher impresses while performing the tango with partner Alan Bersten in Dancing With the Stars

By Animesh Pandey

Modified Oct 30, 2024 03:38 GMT

Ilona Maher has made it to the top six of the 33rd season of 'Dancing with the Stars'. The Olympic bronze medalist rugby player impressed everyone as she did an outstanding tango with her dance partner Alan Bersten.

At the 'Halloween Night' week, Maher and Bersten performed tango to the song 'Psycho Killer' by Miley Cyrus. During the performance, the rugby player wass seen wielding a baseball bat, as her dance partner Bersten tries to 'escape' during the sequence.

The official Instagram page of 'Dancing with the Stars' praised the impressive performance put up by Maher and Bersten, as they shared a few photographs of the performance on Instagram with the caption :

"Slay, queen! 🔥 Ilona and Alan killed their Tango to kick off #HalloweenNightmares. 🔪 #DWTS"

Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten received a total of 24 out of 30 for their performance. They later faced the dancing duo of NBA player Dwight Howard and Daniella Karagach in the dance off, where the dancing duos performed the cha-cha-cha on the song 'Ghostbusters'. Despite losing the dance off, Maher and Bersten avoided eliminations by the virtue of audience vote.

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Ilona Maher on the 'Disney night' performance at 'Dancing with the Stars'

Ilona Maher performing at the 'Disney Night' week at Dancing with the Stars [Image Source : Dancing with the Stars' Instagram]

Previously, Ilona Maher surprised everyone with her brilliant performance on the song 'Surface Pressure' from the movie 'Encanto'. Maher enacted the role of the muscular Luisa, and surprised both the audience and the jury with her stunts and her choreography, for which the rugby player and her dancing partner Alan Bersten received an impressive 25 out of 30.

Maher recounted the struggles behind the performance, including the one-hand lift of Bersten, who was enacting the role of the donkey. In her interview with Entertainment Tonight, Maher said,

"There was a time when it was a little sore. And when you have a whole man on one shoulder... I did it for you guys. Training for Olympic rugby is very very hard. But this week was tough. I looked tired sometimes when we were practicing it. So I guess it’s okay to look tired in rugby, you know? You just ran meters, but in dance, you gotta look good to do it, yeah.”

Maher also spoke about she was inspired by the character of Luisa she enacted during her performance at the 'Disney Night'. In her words,

"“I’ve always seen myself in Luisa and it felt so right. And I think people always saw me as Luisa, even when the movie came out. So, to get to embody her in this way was really special for me and I think for them.”

Ilona Maher has made it to the top six alongside fellow Paris Olympics medalist gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik, who received his first 10 for this season, as he performed a contemporary dance with dancing partner Rylee Arnold on the song 'I ran so far Away' . The brilliant performance from Nedoroscik and Arnold earned an impressive 28 out of 30.