'Dancing with the Stars' brings all the moves to the Benedum

Professional dancer Alan Bersten said he never imagined that he and his celebrity partner, “The Bachelorette” star Hannah Brown, would be among the finalists and the ultimate winner of ABC-TV’s “Dancing with the Stars” reality show, earning the coveted Mirror Ball Trophy.

“Not until they called our names did we feel we had a chance,” he said. “It was surreal. We just thought about each performance week by week.”

They hardly had a chance to take off their dancing shoes after the show ended Nov. 25 when the cast reunited for the “Dancing with the Stars Live” tour that follows the regular TV season.

Bersten spoke with the Tribune-Review by phone from Richmond, Va., where the troupe was rehearsing for the opening night performance of its 80-city tour, the largest post-season tour to date.

“Dancing with the Stars Live” comes to Pittsburgh for one performance Jan. 29 in the Benedum Center.

Pros and celebs

Besides Bersten and other professional dancers Brandon Armstrong, Lindsay Arnold, Witney Carson, Val Chmerkovskiy, Sasha Farber, Jenna Johnson, Gleb Savchenko, Daniella Karagach, Pasha Pashkov and Emma Slater, the tour will feature guest appearances in different cities by celebrities pop star Ally Brooke, country artist Lauren Alaina, comedian and actor Kel Mitchell, “The Office” actress Kate Flannery and model Sailor Brinkley-Cook.

Hannah Brown will only make one tour appearance, on Jan. 28 at Radio City Music Hall, New York City, due to her other commitments.

Flannery, who was partnered with Pashkov during the TV show, will be the special celebrity guest star in Pittsburgh.

Bersten said the live show features the same variety of high-energy dance styles seen on TV.

“The tour is based off the season, which just happens to include a lot of memorable performances,” he said.

Among his favorite dances that he choreographed for Brown were their Viennese waltz to Taylor Swift’s “Lover,” and their quickstep to Elle King’s “American Girl.” He also was proud of their finale freestyle dance to Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” and Alicia Keys’ “Girl on Fire.”

“It all came together so nicely, thanks to the creative team, costume department, producers and all of the crew,” he said.

Bersten, who is from Minnetonka, Minn., has been dancing since he was 7 years old. He has been part of seven live tours and said being with the troupe is a dream come true for him.

“Just to be part of ‘Dancing with the Stars’ is such an accomplishment,” he said.

After the tour, he might find some time for a “mini-vacation,” but he doesn’t plan on sitting out any opportunities to do what he enjoys the most.

“I love dancing,” he said. “I want to keep creating things. That’s my happy place. To share my love of dancing, that’s kismet.”

Bersten also won the first season of the “Dancing with the Stars” spin-off series, “Dancing with the Stars: Juniors” in 2018 as a professional mentor for his Team Alan, featuring professional skateboarder Sky Brown and junior professional dancer JT Church. The team took home the first-ever Mirror Star Trophy.