Season 26 of Dancing With the Stars begins on Monday, April 30, but Dance Dish wanted to ask the pros from Pro Dance Camp what they were looking forward to the most this season. We asked them six questions for Season 26 — first up is Alan Bersten.
Alan officially stepped into the pro role in Season 25 after several fill-in roles in prior seasons when other pros were injured. He was partnered with Debbie Gibson in his first season.
Here are our six questions for Alan:
Dance Dish: What are you going to continue to do in Season 26 that served you well in Season 25?
Alan Bersten: I think I taught my partner well. I go very thorough in the details and make sure she’s comfortable, so when we get there on Monday it’s no surprise. We practice hard all week and train so that way, it’s all muscle memory.
DD: What’s the one thing you would like to improve upon as a pro for Season 26?
Alan: I would like to be more fun. I was a little nervous. It’s nerve-wracking during the season just because no one wants to go home. I want to enjoy it more.
DD: If you were Co-Executive Producer Deena Katz and could cast three athletes, whom would you pick for Season 26?
Alan: I think I have three good ones. Ready? Chloe Kim would be great! I think Tiger Woods would be cool. A tennis player… maybe Serena Williams? If we are going to do it, might as well go for it!
DD: Tell us the one dance from any season that you would never redo because you loved how it turned out.
Alan: Honestly, the first time I filled in, it was with Paige [VanZant]. It was a Salsa and it was so last minute. It just seemed so perfect. I’m lucky enough that all of the dances that I’ve done have turned out pretty well. I have no complaints afterward.
Wait! I also liked “Toxic” with Heather [Morris] and the Tango with Debbie was good.
DD: Is there one dance you would love to redo?
Alan: To be honest, a lot of them you don’t want to redo because they are so genuine. Why change how it happened? It happened in the moment. I don’t think any of the dances were ever bad. They were all good and the authenticity of it is what makes it the best.
DF: If you were a judge, what would you like to tell the pros and celebs since you know what it’s like to be standing in front of the judges?
Alan: The judges see exactly what they want. What they say now is very good, but all celebrities are different — some celebs want constructive criticism, some people like it straightforward and want to be told what to do better and some of them want the hard truth because they understand what a time crisis it is.
I think the judges do a fair job because all of the celebrities have different challenges that they face each week. When you consider that, I think the judges do a great job and are fair.
I think it would be nice to hear more compliments for ourselves. [He laughs.] I’m kidding.
DD: You know I’m going to have to make sure to put parentheses around this last sentence — Alan is joking, people. [Yep, he’s joking and we were both laughing.]
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