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Ilona Maher recently shared a clip of her and Alan Bersten's last dance, expressing her desire to be part of the Dancing With The Stars Tour 2025. Maher recently played with the Bristol Bears in a PWR match while Bersten kicked off the debut night of the tour in Baltimore.
Maher, fresh off winning the women's rugby sevens bronze medal at the 2024 Summer Games, entered DWTS as a celebrity participant. She partnered with pro dancer Alan Bertsen and reached the top five, eventually securing the runners-up position behind Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson.
Maher signed a three-month contract with the PWR team Bristol Bears, thus losing her opportunity to dance on the DWTS tour. The 29-year-old took to her Instagram handle on January 10, 2025, reminiscing about her last dance with Bersten. She also expressed her wish to be on the tour with the others.
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"In honor of DWTS tour starting: last time we danced together," the in-video text read.
Meanwhile, the post's caption read:
"Wish I was out there with you all @dancingwiththestars"
Maher recently debuted in a PWR match with her newly signed team Bristol Bears as they locked horns with defending champions Gloucester-Hartpury. Despite having a field time of 20 minutes, the rugby player garnered record spectators at the Ashton Gate stadium.
The body positivity advocate who embraced feminity despite being associated with masculine sports opened up about taking the sport to heights where she wouldn't be the only 'superstar'.
In a post-match interview, she said:
"I love being a superstar, people call me the superstar of rugby but that’s not enough for the sport. We can’t just have one superstar...Women have power, women have influence and they’re a good fanbase to have.” (via The Guardian)
Maher spent more than half an hour after the game, interacting with fans, signing autographs, and stopping for selfies.
Ilona Maher explained how Alan Bersten made him feel feminine even though she displayed masculine strength on the DWTS stage
Having performed together for a few months, Ilona Maher and the pro dancer Alan Bersten built a strong bond of friendship. Maher's performances on the DWTS stage were pathbreaking, considering how she portrayed characters like Luisa Madrigal from the Disney feature film, Encanto.
Even though she often incorporated lifts in the dance routines, she credited Bersten for making her feel feminine through the choreographies.
"What's so cool about having a partner like Alan, because though I did the things like lifting him and things that aren't considered to be for a woman or feminine, (but) I still felt very feminine and beautiful whenever I did it. And I didn't feel like it took away from who I am or made me feel a certain way, I think it (was) just a celebration of my strength more than anything.” (via Parade)
Ilona Maher will next take the rugby field on Sunday, starting for the Bristol Bears for the first time as the team goes up against the Exeter Chiefs.
