Reuniting with Alan Bersten

Honestly, that made my time on the show so good because I was afraid of like, what if I don't like my partner? Would you want to be with anyone else? No. Unless.
Come on in and welcome back to House of Mar, a wave original presented by the new Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Here's one of your hosts, Adriana Mar.
She recently got a haircut, which she is calling a bob because she doesn't go any shorter than that. I'm calling it a Mar-bob.
A Mar-bob, yes. You're such long hair people that this feels like a bob.
Of course. I'm Adriana Mar.
This is Olivia Mar, one of your co-hosts as well. And she should trademark this eye look.
You can do it in your sleep. Thank you so much.
Yeah. So I'm Olivia Marr and this is your other co-host, Ilona Marr, a wonderfully talented person who still uses bunny ears to tie her shoelaces.
Yeah. Hey, it works.
What about it? And I am very, very excited to introduce our first ever guest,

my good friend, my dance coach, dance partner,

Alan Burson, a Dancing with the Stars pro,

a lover of crafty and cream cheese,

and a very good coach, I would say.

Some would say.

Some said. I've said it.
I've said it.

I'm the first guest. We finally got first, Ilona.
Yeah! Feels good. Feels great.
Oh, yeah. Someone bring out a mirror ball.
And to honor of Alan, actually, I'm wearing my Latin ballroom dance shoes. It's true.
I would show more of my leg, but I did not shave. She did not shave her legs.
Which, funny story about that, on some of our dances, Alan would have to, like, run his hand up my leg. And I was like, sorry about this, buddy.
I did not shave again today. So you're like, ow, ow, ow, ow.
Dance is a contact sport. Dance is a contact sport.
Some would say. Full contact sport, yeah.
But I put these on in case we did need a breakout and dance. Just in case.
A little bit of space here for you guys. A little space.
In Touchgrass, we are back in the States. Olivia and I's first stop was getting chilies.
Yeah. Wow.
had to do a cheese pull she loves a trip to really taste all those what what everyone in the uk likes to call chemicals you know what i mean oh you've got dyes and chemicals well it's delicious so had to touch down and get that stuff immediately but then we went in the airport we hadn't even left the airport but then we went right from into eating Courage bagels in LA. So two very different vibes.
But Alona had been dreaming about those bagels for weeks now. You were like, that's the first thing I want to do when I get back to LA.
I'm still upset because you went once without me and now you went twice without me. Is this Courage bagels? What are you doing? Do you like Courage bagels? Do you go? I frequent.
The man eats a bagel for sure. I love a a good open-faced bagel alona said you're a freak for cream cheese i love cream cheese i put that on everything flavored or just plain all of them garden vegetable is the best though but i'm not gonna turn down any cream cheese right it'll be like strawberry except for strawberry it'll be like during breaks of dancing i'm like where's alan i'll head over to crafty he's like dipping pretzelsels and cream cheese He's got a celery stick.
He's always like you ready to go. I'm like, yeah, yeah, I was ready.
You weren't there. Let's hit it, buddy We crafty was a big place we met up that was our meeting point That was our safe space.
Yeah, but before we made it back to the States though, we had a quick trip to Germany Yeah, where you went to the Adidas headquarters as their newest global icon athlete. It was very nice.
A massive headquarters. It looked like the best college campus you've ever seen.
I got to meet so many people. I met Michaela Schifrin, who was like, that was so cool to meet a legend like that.
Turns out we're like about the same age. Yeah.
To me, she's an icon, but she's just been doing this for so long and been such a name in the sport and in the world it was so fun we got to get so much cool gear i have so many different specials and sambas and and all these i gotta wear gazelles uh we met great people and then it was also cool to be in germany yeah having some beer you've never been whoa i've never been to germany but that was awesome we had little sausages that's what they're famous for in Nuremberg. It's these little tiny sausages.
You get like a plate of 12. You know what? I also went into a sauna in Germany.
Did you? Yeah. Alan and I, we would go to the sauna in LA after dance practice.
Just tons of old dudes in there. It's just him and I, we put on these special hats.
What are they called? Hats. Hats.
Gold hats. Gold hats.
They call them little hats. Anyway, this sauna gets extremely hot.
It does. It's like 200 degrees.
Something wild. And so we're in there sweating and I think we're both like, I'm not leaving until he's leaving.
So I'm going to stay until, oh, so we got to leave. And one random old dude is just there for like 30 minutes.
He's breathing. Yeah, he's chilling out.
Was it sauna cold plunging? Yes. It was like contrast 30? Oh.
I heard you guys love to cold plunge actually i love it i think it's great it was it was an experience yeah i'm glad i did it but it was i don't like i'm not jonesing to go again but if you drag me to it i do it but the sauna in germany was quite an experience for you well the thing about the sauna in germany is that they go in naked so i was like got in there i'm like that guy might be naked and so that guy might be naked. And so I'm just sitting there.
I was in a full workout gear because I just got done. Where in Germany? Just for the viewers to know.
Just if you want to know this one specific sauna. But so I was like, okay, this is different, different.
So the guy gets up. I kid you not.
An outprint of his, of his balls. On the, on the seat.
Not the sack scan. Not the, on the seat.
And I was seat and i was like right this is a different level this is and then you just right showered right ahead so i like our our spa that we go to everybody's fully clothed it's all a vibe one guy one time was like do you want me to what what is it they're called vanyiki vanyiki in russian they're like little bundles of leaves is that when they stood there they're hitting oh what does that help with? Circulation? Honestly, it's probably like one of those folktales. Like, oh, it's really good for your skin.
But I think it just makes your skin hotter. And so it exudes the toxins from your body.
You're just smacking yourself with some leaves? I'm not a scientist. Alan loves it.
I do love it, though. It is really nice.
He's smacking himself with a wooden thing, too. I bought one from Amazon that is not leaves.
It's just bamboo. Oh.
It's almost like a cupping thing, like bringing blood to the surface. How good does it feel, though? No, he's like, take this.
Your arch shirt, take it. So I'm hitting my arches with it.
It feels good. It is.
It's a cool thing. I actually brought one.
Oh, my God. It's all passing around.
One time you had to leave earlier, so I was just in there. Someone guy came to me me and he's like, you want me to do that to you? It's how we make friends.
I was like, I'm okay, sir. I'll be fine.
That's maybe another time. My friend Alan isn't here, but he's coming way back.
I usually come here with my friend Alan. I swear.
He's in the bathroom. He goes to another school, but he's coming right now.
Despite Alona's exciting news about Adidas, for those that are only listening and can't see this, Alan is wearing something not celebrating her new partnership here. I guess you're just going to have to get him a couple pairs.
I feel like you should have brought me a pair. Yeah, something from Germany.
That's on you, dog. You were in the archives.
No, that's a good point. That's a good point.
I should have messed up. The sambos, at least.
No, I'll get you a pair. Bare minimum.
Make sure you're decked out. Make sure they're bedazzled.
Well, you know what? Two shoes, though, is funny. Share our shoe thing.
Listen, this season, when I was partnering with Alona, I was like, okay, we're either getting eliminated first or we're going to make it really far. And that.
So I bought blank Converse, just white Converse. And after every dance, before we performed it, we would, she would write down week one name of the song.
Okay. And I still have them somewhere in my trunk.
And it's the car trunk. Yeah.
Car closet. No.
I still have it. It was really cool.
And I'm going to frame them. I think you should keep doing that.
I'm going to put it in a box. It was going to go in the box with the Mirabelle trophy.
Oh. Right.
They can still go in a box, though. Yeah.
It's okay. Let's get into tea time, tea time because you talk about you know not knowing how far we're gonna go what were your first impressions of me as a dancer i've learned that he did not think highly of my dance skills that's not true how did you find that out what do you mean i was very excited you were my partner we walked in we started dancing then he, this is going to be fun.
It's going to be a long season. No, honestly, I didn't know what to expect.
We've never had a rugby player on the show. Yeah, no.
And I never realized how athletic you could be, which is such a blessing, especially on the show. But I think the best part about you was the hard work ethic.
You know, you never gave up. really hard and then you ended up getting it you know i feel like for you and i don't want to speak for you but i feel like what was harder was more mentally yeah as opposed to physically yeah like you by the end of it you were amazing you were honestly i got my improve our last quick step week on no no we did we did got we got much better you crushed it that was because the haters were coming for us i think the confetti when the confetti hit you yeah it really knocks yeah yes no but honestly the last like three weeks were just unbelievable and i think you surpassed not only my expectations but probably your own and everyone else's the But yeah, the first week was...
But you also... So I think you didn't know.

You'd never know who you're gonna part your partner's gonna be and then there was rumors that i would be on but you also one time had a thing where you hope somebody's partner and then it got messed up for you i legit this time i was like don't tell me my partner because one season i was told who my partner was i was about to go. And they're like, ooh, there's a switch.
Didn't turn out great. So this time, I was like, I'm just going to walk in without any expectations.
And it worked out perfectly. But you were hoping it was her.
I was hoping it was her. Really? Oh, for sure.
Why so? Oh, just because I already saw her in the Olympics. And I was like, she's got a lot of impact.
She's funny. If I'm going to spend five hours with somebody every day, I want to have fun.
You don't want to be miserable. We were kind of told who a partner could be for us.
Well, first we had some requirements that I make fun of, the 6'2 thing that I make fun of because we were like, well, we want a taller partner and the amazing producer of Dance With Star is Dina. She's the best.
She was like, oh, I got something for you. He's great.
He's 6'. And they, they gave us like, they told us a couple about couple that could be who, who we think.
So Olivia had me watch the season before with you just to get a vibe for you. And I remember thinking, I was like, Oh, this guy's very like animated because that, but that's how dance with the stars is.
It's very animated. And I wasn't sure if that's like, if it was all a front and I was here, like this guy could be really animated and nice on the show, or he could just be, and then be a total, like not fun actually.
So we kind of knew as you, I came into the studio for our meet and you were just sitting there and I walked by the studio and I was like, well, it's Alan. So then I walked by and then it was this whole thing of like, Oh, it's Alan.
I'm so excited. And we kept that up, but it was also, I was scared that all of a sudden, like the mask would be ripped away and you would just be kind of like, all right, here we go excited and we kept that up but it was also i was scared that all of

sudden like the mask would be ripped away and you would just be kind of like all right here we go let's do it but it was i was so happy that it was how you were is actually how our time together would be i remember that first meeting really well i still get nervous i don't know how many times i've been a pro at probably like 10 years now yeah and i still get like super nervous and And then I remember you walking in and you were pretty nervous.

Yeah. How did it feel?

I was so stressed too because i knew it was going to be hard work though i've never been like oh this is just going to be a fun show i knew it was going to be hard and i had heard rumors that you can be tough on your your partners and i was like okay i wasn't scared of that though i was like okay perfect i think you what did you first teach me was the new yer the first thing? And that's where he was like, I think you went and told people I was really bad too, didn't you? Oh God. He went on the group chats and was saying we could have the next worst dancer.
No, no, no. No, you didn't.
No, no, no. I wasn't good.
I was ready to learn though. But for those first, I was nervous.
I didn't know what was happening. And it's like, you got to go, go, go.
I go go i'm gonna be honest you're only as good as your teacher so if you don't have a good teacher it's not your fault so i was a little nervous as well i was like oh god did i teach her bad no but you honestly i think after the first day we had that little break to do promos yeah we went to new york we came back and you were like a different person i think you were just nervous do you remember that promo shoot yeah I had it what is your thoughts of how I was on that day it was hard because I think you were in heels for the like the whole day whole day and we were just being herded like herded like yeah to like different areas it was long it was fun but like I also think it was the first time you got to meet like everyone else yeah Yeah. Well, some of the other people.
Well, I just remember they were like, okay, now dance. I was like, I thought I was learning to dance.
And so I had to dance from the camera. And like, you know, they try to make it fun for you.
So they start, yeah, go. I was like, shut up.
Olivia was there. And I was like, oh, Olivia, she's doing great.
Don't worry about it. She's doing great, sweetie.
But Olivia saw me. I come watching the monitors.
I have videos of it still where I'm like trying to be like, oh, she looks so beautiful. And I'm like, oh, she's actively having a panic attack right now.
It was a tough day for me. Could you pick up on that? Like her nerves and that? Oh, yeah.
I could tell she was nervous. But I also think it was great that you were there.
You know, you kind of went on this journey with us. Yeah.
Adriana did it from New York. Yeah, she was there.
Virtually. I was remotely.
She was there. She was there remotely.
But you were there almost every day. And I think that was nice, having that comfort, having the sister, having, you know, whenever she didn't want to do something, Olivia would walk in and go, hey, yeah, we're not doing this.
Yeah, she's not going to do that right now. Come on, just tell me.
No, I'm kidding. We got better at that.
It was just the beginning of learning how to work with each other. And because all of a sudden you're like, you meet this person, the next day you're thrust in with them.
That's a strong word to use. Sorry.
The next day, what's the word? I feel like I use that word a lot too. That's a dance verb.
It's a dance verb. I'm like thrust.
The next day you're really like forced to spend time together. Like we spent that promo shoot, we were hours together and then we had to do this together.
And like you, this person you don't even know know you've just met and all of a sudden you're with them every single day yeah i mean we literally did not have a day off no except for that week for we had like two days off yeah and then even then you made me come in to train on my off day i was like he's like he's like we gotta do this quick step please give me an hour and a was intense. How did you guys feel watching her? I, for your first one, I was so excited.
I had like seven friends come over in my living room and I was like, everyone alone is going. And I remember just like seeing you on my screen like that.
I was like, this doesn't feel real. Why is my sister on my screen? And it was really amazing.
Like I could tell how nervous you were during your first dance. Like all my friends afterwards, like she did and i was like she was shitting bricks yeah well ask alan i messed up no no no no one saw it and then he brings up and he's like that's what happens when you don't balance your weight and i'm like oh no because it was it was a foot dragon where i can see it i can't even watch that dance the editors on tick tock love that clip too they love that too.
That would have been a perfect clip. They use it all the time anyway.
What's funny is Ilona was like, I'm not much of a practice person. I like to just go in and do it.
Yeah, we're practicing. We practiced that dance for two weeks.
That one was long. I agree the first episode is hard because on a normal week, you only get like three days to learn the dance.
On the first week, you get like a week and a half and then you're practicing it and you don't want to get that expectation of doing it taking that long to learn it every week so i was like okay let's learn it okay let's learn the next dance but then by the end of it you're like oh i'm kind of tired of doing this dance and we haven't even done it yet yeah but it's okay you did crush it you did the dance it was your first experience you don't know what to expect on your first experience. And you did a really good job.
You didn't run off the floor. So that's a win.
That's a win. Never did that.
You didn't tackle me. Maybe I cried.
Maybe I messed up. But I never ran off.
For me, I loved obviously watching you and watching you go on that journey and the confidence that you gained every week. And I think that you were such an exemplary person that does the Dancing with the Stars journey.
You got better, right? That's what you're there to do. We wanted to see you struggle.
We wanted to see you do it and do it like a normal person or Olympian that might look like. A normal person that has an Olympic medal.
It's just normal. It's just whatever.
But then I also just loved watching your guys' partnership grow and flourish. And kind of from the moment, the moment you got together in that first meeting, there was this conspirial energy that was like all right let's do this thing like from the get-go we're gonna make we're gonna make we're gonna do we're gonna do the social media we're gonna do the practicing we're gonna take this seriously and I think that was awesome I 100% agree I think it was more than you know some seasons you just do your job you go in you rehearse you leave I feel like we became feel like we became friends.
We went to eat all the time. We went to the spa all the time.
You worked out? I don't want to say the name of the spa. We worked out.
Yeah, we're not giving a free promo. Sorry, guys.
Sorry. And we worked out together.
It was more than just like, oh, let's just dance. And I think that's what made the relationship really fun and the partnership really good.
It's weird because, again, I've done this so many times, you never know what to expect. And so I got very, very lucky with you, Alona.
I'll tell everyone. She is one of those people where I'm like, she is what Dancing with the Stars is.
You want to take somebody who doesn't dance, who doesn't know what they're doing, who goes out there, who's nervous. I'm going to just keep going.
Nervous. Really,

really bad.

Horror bad.

And you turn them into somebody

with a glimmer of...

No.

You turn them into somebody

who can actually dance.

But that's what you talked about.

You'd always like,

even if I did it,

you're like,

it's fine.

This show is about improving.

Yeah.

It's fine.

That's what it's about.

And I will safely say,

I don't think there's ever been somebody

who has came on the show

and embraced it more

and has learned more and came out a different person in regards to dancing at least i don't know how you feel about yourself but as a dancer you came out as a different person i don't really feel like a dancer but i'm wearing dance shoes i think you're right about it was mostly the mental thing for me because physically everyone's like is it tough physically i'm like get hit and I have to run and I get tackled and be tackled so that wasn't tough. It was like mentally that I couldn't figure out because it was like you would tell me to do something and I would do it but then I wouldn't do the toe thing.
And then you would tell me okay now do this. And so I think that was really hard for me because it wouldn't link up.
Like I never played a sport where you have to do a routine my sport was always this happens so what are you going to do next you have to adapt to it whereas dancing is like this happens then this happens and this is going to happen it's also is very different for team sports and rugby especially like you said you make decisions on the fly and you have so much time to like if they score you can we can yeah score as well on a dance on this you get a minute and a half one time live yeah if you mess up you mess up like there's no like oh i'm gonna fix it again figure that out you know so it's it's a very different mentality yeah because you're not able to just like fix it on the fly and the thing thing is you can practice so much, but then that one time you do it and it's the one time I do it, I'll do it perfectly. And then we do it on in the show.
Rehearsals. But in rehearsals, I could see your confidence, you know, by the end of the week you were ready.
And then I think sometimes you just were like, Oh God, I got to do it now. Yeah.
And I think that extra pressure is what gets to you but it's not just you it's everyone do you like get any tricks on like how to like help her before show well after my big breakdown jive week hair metal hair metal night we don't speak about that week i think we realized like you started thinking of it as a game. Yeah.
As a rugby game. And we would do the same thing before we would walk on the stage.
There's a little staircase there. And she would sit down there and visualize.
And you would say something. I just, I say words that I say before rugby.
Composure. Undisturbed.
Like things like as the outside. Because there's, I think undisturbed was like there's so many outside factors.
Like would have problems when i got in the ballroom and start dancing and the crowd would get so loud so like week two when we did those flips yeah the the crowd was so loud that i like lost my place and i loved it it's a it's a hundred percent and it was loud for me too and i experienced it on the regular i don't want to brag i don't want to brag it's really loud just walking this crowd yeah no but you know you it was really loud and when we were dancing i was like holy beep i don't swear guys no no i was holy they are loud yeah and i remember like we both looked at each other we're like oh my god yeah got, I'd get a little in my head with that, I think. Cause like people, and then you get, lose your place a little bit cause it's so exciting.
But I just started doing that in the hallway before I'd always sit down, have water, try to like, I would count to breathe and count to 10. Cause I was just like game days.
Like even when I got on the floor, I was like hitting my shoulders, like revving up to go. It's a whole process.
Like you have to, this to this,

you have 15 seconds here, 30 seconds there.

So there's so many time in between

where you can just think about it

and your heart gets going,

you're watching other people perform.

It's a real mind challenge for me.

It's a doozy, yeah, which you do all the time.

But even for me, like with you,

like when I dance, especially on the show,

I don't care about myself.

You know, my whole purpose is to make sure you feel good

in the But even for me, like with you, like when I dance, especially on the show, I don't care about myself. You know, my whole purpose is to make sure you feel good and look good.
And so when you get nervous or you get upset, it makes me like, oh, I failed her. You know, so I never got frustrated with you.
And I said, I say this and I will say it all the time. I never get frustrated with you messing up.
i get like sad and upset with myself that you messed up because maybe i didn't prep you well enough you know like it's a weird feeling because when you're in rugby i'm sure you guys train really hard you know if somebody if somebody messes up you can pick up the slack yeah you know but it's hard for me to pick up the slack when you're standing there by yourself yeah yeah and my whole job is to make sure that you are prepared enough yeah so like i would start getting like emotional and and frustrated with myself like oh my god did i do enough is she ready and you are ready every time you were ready every time and i think you know like i think looking back at it you're like okay yeah there was a few times where the nerves got to you but overall like you rocked it you went in there and i never realized how many people could support somebody and i feel like you really not only took that support but you also bring it back to everyone and that's what's different about you and you guys about like then then other people that are on the show yeah you know you very much care about everyone you know i i want to realize how to make sure that you feel safe in that we're teammates if you like and i said this a lot but words don't mean a lot you know it's like i was like if you mess up i don't care and i feel like even after you did mess up i was like i still don't care a lot. You know, it's like, I was like, if you mess up, I don't care.
And I feel like even after you did mess up, I was like, I still don't care. As long as you know that like, I got you.
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Even in rugby, like when I knock a ball on, I'm like, well, I'm the worst player. I hate myself.
And but I allow other people people to make mistakes so i'm okay if my teammates knock on i'm okay if they i'm like that's okay hey guys that's all good but when i do a mistake i'm like i've messed it up for everybody i i see that and i'm like i see that a lot because i'm very similar in that when you mess up i'm like oh it's okay if i mess up i'm like oh my idiot what did i just do no but it's it's crazy to have that similarity and i think we were so similar in certain things if there was ever a moment of tension i think we were both like yeah it's okay we're gonna get over it like it's not a big deal yeah and we got over it yeah we had some um what was it what do we call them no steak burritos oh yeah no food was our really our uh your connector well we would have some times where we'd be like because again guys every day i'm in the room with him having to learn these dances and so there'd be days when we would not like each other and be like all right you still want to go to the spa you still want to go yeah but it's an interesting tactic you still want to go get thai food yeah yeah those are really good and mixed that place we're not gonna say that place we don't shout anyone out it's not the tactic. You still want to do good Thai food? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
That was a really good, mixed-out place. We're not going to say that place.
We don't shout anyone out. It's not the gatekeeping podcast.
Jeez. We did...
Dancing with the gatekeepers? The thing about, I think people don't realize, is I do a lot on social media. That was my thing in the Olympics.
But Alan also was a big driver of it and also a big creative of it because we both, I think, saw the impact of it. We saw what it could do and also it allowed people to connect with us like people got to see alan in a different light they got to see me they got to see like us having fun us crying whatever it was like i think that was a big help to us but also we just wanted people to see i think i've never been with a partner that was so open and i think again what makes you stand out is how genuine and vulnerable you are.
You'll go on Instagram, you'll cry, you'll say you have a hard day. You don't just make everything so, oh, I have the best life.
And I think that was really awesome to see because I think so many people connected with you on that. And I wanted to be a part of that.
And in my past seasons, I'm like, okay, let's film a video with you. I'm like, yo, let's film a video.
Like, get Olivia in here. What are we filming today? Yeah, what are we filming today? This, this, this, and this.
You got ideas? You guys are pumping videos out. She was really, I'm going to say, you don't give yourself enough credit.
You bring a lot of video ideas. Yeah, but people don't give you credit for it as well.
You look at the camera and it's you know it was fun to be able to take breaks when we're dancing like oh let's film something yeah and then also be like okay let's get to work yeah like that was something that again you don't always click with sometimes it's you're dancing with somebody and I'm like hey let's film a video because you want the fans to know who you are yeah and people are like oh no i don't really you know i'm tired or keep yeah and you're always just like yeah let's do it we also notice people some people trying to keep a persona up right like of wanting to appear this sort of way i think what alan and i really got along well i was like this guy would put on a skirt and be like all right sweet what are we doing how do you want me to act i rocked that skirt yeah you did i was asking for a wig so i could join you all the long hair but it didn't work didn't work out i also what i noticed is like and this goes back to like the dancing part a i remember in the beginning of the season you were like i don't really want to be lifted yeah i wasn't i had my feet on two feet on the ground i don't get lifted yeah why we're the same size so you were scared i was very scared yes you didn't trust him enough alona i grew to trust him and i grew to trust her she looked at me more i was freaking out he liked it though once he got the first time he's like this is really honestly i like it thrown around yeah yeah yeah it was really funny though because i've always been like to a partner hey just let me lift you you'll feel what it feels like yeah elona tried to lift me i was like yo what are we doing i think he went apologize to daniela he's like so sorry man dan lifting is really hard being is really hard. Being lifted is very hard.
All the girls that I've ever lifted, now I'm like, yo, sorry for just lifting you. This is vulnerable.
And I'm going to say, Alan, get over here. I'm like, no, no, no.
We had to do a lot of practice. I mean, there are some videos of him going down hard.
Oh, hard. But one time he went down, he was like, great, great stuff.
Ow. I think my elbow's out of place i think i have it somewhere i literally fell okay that's great wow we're so good we're so having fun thing you now like i'm a different body type than all the other partners you've had i mean you've had tall partner like a you know but i am a very strong woman like the same size even i think val talked about on podcast we aren't your average looking dance couple i think you really took that and were like okay cool i can do something different with this yeah and the thing is also about dance with stars is like alan's choreographing everything himself so every week that guy's making his own dances which i think is crazy so he's like in his head having to craft a dance for me but his and i love for you to talk about it like taking me taking my body type and also making it feminine while doing the lifts and whatnot you know i think it's it's easier towards the end of the season because like i know you so well already i know what works what doesn't in the beginning it's hard because you know we'll make a dance and for example the cuban break move where we cross and you know the cuban break i know the cuban break Cuban break.
She's actually really good at it. For some reason, even on week one, her hips were freaking moving.
That's what they're saying. That's what people online are saying.
I don't know. Book talk is all over it.
Yeah. But it was like, I don't know what you can do.
Yeah. But then like towards the end of it, I'm like, oh, she looks really good with this.
Her arms are really strong here. But yeah, creating it, it's hard because again, you don't have a lot of time.
We do the show on Tuesday. On Wednesday, we got to start learning the dance.
By Thursday, we have to have a video of the full dance. Yes.
So a lot of the time, even I'll prep something and then we get into the studio and I'm like, okay, this has to change. How do you feel about this or this's a lot of like even afterwards i'm like just sleep on it we'll get better tomorrow and if it doesn't i'll change it so it's it's a lot more collaborative than you think like a lot of the things like i'll ask alona like what do you want to do here what do you feel comfortable doing here and um it was nice that you had an opinion yeah you knew what you like to do you knew what felt good for you yeah like even i think in the salsa you were like oh i wanna like i wanna i was always trying to be sexy i was like let's do a sexy i want you to go up my leg here i don't know if i said that oh next time shave no i love that idea how about you make it a nice and clean no but you know it was i don't know i look back at it i'm like oh this was just fun i really wanted to make sure that like oh i'm not trying to hide you you know you bring so much to the dance floor i really want everyone to see not only how much you're growing but like how good you are so a lot of the times and i'm not going to speak on other people all their pros but like they'll try to like dance in front of their partner like hide them with you i was like oh i want her to be a star i want you to shine even if it's not perfect you don't gotta be perfect you know people love you because because you try not because you're perfect not saying that you're not perfect not saying that but But you know what I mean? So I really made sure that even if it might have not been the best move, you're going out there and you're selling it.
Because I think that means more to people watching than you getting a perfect score. It's more inspirational to me, at least, for you going out there out of your comfort zone, really working hard for something and achieving it what was everyone's favorite dance of the season of yours have got of course on the count of three wait oh wait wait wait she's forgotten not this not that's a song name the actual dance okay three two one all right what you say? I don't think anybody picked up on that.
She said the rumba. She said rumba? Rumba.
Why so? Why so? The dedication to the song, your outfit, how good the dance was, especially from the week prior. Like you could just see like such a huge improvement.
What are you trying to say? That's the journey that you were on, you know? You had- She did the splits. It was like a crazy difference.
She did the splits. That's so cute.
That was a big for me too. I love, love.
And by splits we mean almost there. Oh yeah.
But like, Alan would bring her a little lower every time. Give me up Alan.
What the hell's going on here? Give me up, give me up. No, that rumble was really good and you're right.
It felt like a breakthrough. It was a breakthrough.
And yeah and like it was just i think the first time where you showed like a very sensitive and vulnerable side not just like oh i'm gonna go out here and be athletic and and do the jive or yeah because the jive is very athletic the salsa we did the lifts you know you also were very good in the fox truck which i did i didn't mind the fox what song was that one uh i think that was Lady Mar that was- Lady Marmalade. Lady Marmalade.
But the Rumba was like the first time where I was like, oh, she's got- I liked the Rumba. I liked it a lot.
She's elegant. The hair was down.
You crafted it beautifully for it too. Yeah.
With like the spin and the end of it, I think was like really nice. And I, my outfit for that, I have a quote saying where I, I was like, I want to be as naked as possible naked as possible because i just i didn't feel this but like i felt very covered up at times by some of my outfits in the previous weeks and so i went to the the wardrobe department is amazing there i went to them i was like i want to be naked i want to be like those other girls and i want to wear less less less less and so i remember you posted i'm pretty sure sizza commented yes that's my girl but i wanted to feel very beautiful because even like showing off like alan was creating this dance these dances for my body type to look so beautiful i also wanted to show it off in such yeah good lights and i think that was a perfect dance perfect outfit for that yeah so what was your favorite no what was your favorite i said the paso the pa i also that was that was a really fit that was a good one full body chills like you got so stepped into your power and you just felt it just rolling off you know because i before that when i got i was getting angry because everyone was saying i didn't deserve to be not everybody dramatic but a lot of people online were saying like i didn't deserve to be there or anything like that because like oh she doesn't have the best dancers and i was like i'm improving every week and constantly trying and so i think this one the way that he crafted it like to be so powerful and like sexy and and all these moves and like you know there's a moment where i walk and everybody's behind me like what a cool that was a cool moment cinematic and like me me up there on stage again putting me front and center like doing the move in the beginning i loved that so i mean the paso was honestly one of my favorite dances for sure.
And it was in the semifinals. And we had two dances that week.
Super stressful. But honestly, the two best dances I think we've done.
It was the Paso Don't Boy. Yeah, and then the Vini's Waltz.
I loved that one. I thought that was, that one took us a minute to learn as well.
Remember that first day? Was that your answer? He was not happy. Was that what you said? Well, Beanie is also my favorite.
But I couldn't get these steps down. And then Emma helped again.
And I was like, oh my God. No, it's true.
That's how it happens. And then by Friday, it was like, oh, these dances are special.
I knew when we started doing those dances towards the end of the week and actually running into music, I was like, oh shit. This is the right right time to have good dances i think we slayed that week for sure no honestly that was probably the best probably the best week i chose the freestyle because it was really cool i loved the whole monologue in the beginning i loved like you walking talking um going down like memory lane and the been better, Carrie Ann.
Yeah, that was great. I messed it up for the timing.
Did she? Yeah. Every day I was like, no, she changed the words to what I wanted originally.
Yeah, I did. Really? She's like, no, I think this sounds better.
I'm like, okay, do whatever you want. She rips away.
Never been better, Carrie Ann. Yeah, that was your idea.
I was say, and Carrie-Anne. And then there's a little background noise.
Never been better. Yeah.
But I missed that. And it was the background noise.
That's what I'm supposed to say. Okay.
And so I said, never been better. It worked so well.
It worked perfectly. Also, you looked incredible.
Yeah, that was fun. Well, again, I was like, I want something sexy.
And I want something glittery. And for people that maybe don't know what we're talking about, though, can you explain the never been better Carrie Ann or better Carrie Ann? In the week, we don't speak of hair metal.
You know, it's a jive. It was a very jive was tough for me.
Yeah. Gene Simmons was there.
Gene Simmons was there. He was calling everyone sexy.
There's so much, so much anticipation for our dance. Right.
Right. Right.
Right. And so I kind of got jive's a very fast dance.
It's like no breaks. This to this to this to this to this.
And I got off. I got off from I think jumping down.
I was off, huh? And then slightly got it, lost it again. Yeah, she got it back.
Loss it again. Yeah.
It was just a tough week. It was a tough dance.
That was a tough week. The week actually wasn't even that bad you were really good in the week but i think the if i remember craig i remember craig no but i remember i was like oh you're good at the jive like you got that high energy no i'm thinking about somebody else no you weren't bad i know it was tough because it was fast and you said from the get-go you were like if you mess up one step it's hard to catch on but i will say i was like oh you're gonna be good at it and then the show happened and we just got lost but it was okay but in the judge's comments so carrie ann goes well i'm crying at this point so she goes are you okay i'm like i didn't hear so i was, what'd you say? She's like, are you okay? I'm like, been better, Carrie Ann.
Because I'm like crying in front of national television. Honestly, iconic.
I just gave a terrible jive. Iconic.
In wild outfits and hair. In wild outfits and gods.
I didn't spiritually feel good with the outfit on. I didn't, that was my favorite.
After that outfit, she was like, okay, I yeah yeah i was like only sexy outfits but yeah that line was iconic and went viral now it went viral and i felt like after that i was like oh in the freestyle you gotta say never we gotta bring it back yeah yeah but yeah no and then other than that whole awesome ted lasso moment of you just talking like yeah to me it was just so reminiscent of something. People also connected with us talking and our personalities coming through.
I think him choreographing that in with having my personality come through was so a sweet ending to the journey, I guess. Also, when you ripped off the jumpsuit, the track suit, the Adidas track suit yeah you were you were just so good like you i was a little off when i watched it back yeah i was i was going too fast on the moves and whatnot but it's okay i was also like it was me so i never understand these because it's me an amateur dancer and i'm dancing with all pros around me i'm like can we find someone Beyonce's lead dancer was in it.
I was like, can we get some other people in here?

But it's like, Daniela and Emma and all the, I'm like, okay, here we go. But it was, you were good.
Yeah, it was fun and it was personality driven. And there was moments where I got to speak and we added in like a little bit of rugby stuff.
He took all the little dances from the they put a foxtrot number in there a paso number in there yeah um i really wanted her to tackle me we did try to do that she wouldn't let you right they wouldn't let us because of like insurance or something they also like refused to let you guys go to a field i'm pretty sure they thought ilona was gonna take all the rage on me ilona was gonna like kill you they were like alan can't take it i was like get him to a rugby field you'll do it right now the football game. You the rage on me in the field.
Yeah, they thought that day, Colona was gonna like kill you. They were like, Alan can't take it.
I was like, get him to a rugby field. He'll do it right now.
But then when we went to the football game, you did tackle me. I will say, I took it like a champ.
You took it like a champ. Well, that's it.
That's your, so you were only a ballroom dancer. Yeah.
You never did any contact sports. My mom would not let me do sports.
Really? She's like, you're gonna get hurt. And then a few years ago, we were, I mean, I think me and Val or somebody else we were playing basketball you know pickup basketball yeah like the boys do i dislocated my finger i broke my finger my mom was right and i come at the hospital like mom like three years ago i'm like mom i broke my finger i told you not to play sports i was like i, it worked out for you.
You're now an amazing dancer. But we have a funny story because Danny Amendola is like actually the same size, if not a little shorter than Alan.
So Alan's like, man, I could have gone to the NFL. I really could have gone to the NFL, guys.
Dang. Another universe.
I might be delusional, but I truly believe. You could have been the next Danny.
I could have been a star athlete. I could have been a star.

Tom Brady would have been passing it to me.

It's interesting.

There's so many different styles of dance.

And it's not like, oh, if you're good at this, you're good at that.

It's not like, oh, if you're good at rugby, you're probably good at football.

You're probably good at running.

You're probably good at this.

You know?

Dancing is so different.

They're like contemporary is so soft.

We never did it contemporary. Us both lifting each other just constantly lifts just airplanes we'll do it after we'll do it for the podcast right right you took a dance class in england it was almost like salsa in a way like the the the feet how you do it and it took me a minute to get it and then i was like i got this you brought your teammates right i brought my team yeah we brought my teammates.
I didn't know you took a class. I did.
I genuinely took a class. Yeah.
And I was like, please don't. Nobody know me for Dancing with Stars.
Please no one know me for Dancing with Stars. Do they recognize you? No, thankfully nobody in this class did, which is crazy because like all of Bristol was knowing me.
But I was like, I am now better at picking things up. Yeah, a hundred percent.
Like I can now. Oh, you teach me a few steps.
I can kind of get it. I noticed it like week five.
I was like, oh, like before it would take like 30 minutes to learn a step and like solidify it. I think you became more comfortable and confident in yourself.
Yeah. And you probably were like, oh, you know what? I can do this.
So then you learned it and you would like pick up steps a lot this year. It was crazy when we went from week one to the, again, week, I think it was maybe tango week where I was like we picked up and one day we're like

oh okay

no I actually got I got foxtrot

in like two days yeah

you guys were watching

I think it was because I had people watching me yeah you guys

were all sitting your first day on Wednesday we came in

and then the next day we had like

a news outlet came to record

us and like and just do part of your dance and I

kid you not locked in

Alan and I got out and I did the whole dance perfectly

we were laughing the whole time Alan and I were like

Thank you. like a news outlet came to record us and like, and just do part of your dance.
And I kid you not locked in. Alan and I got out and I did the whole dance perfectly.
We were laughing the whole time. I'm like, like we got through the whole dance perfectly.
It was the second day. But also you have to dance when there's press.
You have to dance without music. So we're kind of like, Oh, you just hear them breathing.
And then I start laughing because I'm like, Oh, are you counting? Your feet are just going. Oh yeah.
Sometimes, yeah. Do you ever see those? I love those videos online where it's like you like, one, two.
Because he's yelling at me. A lot of times, like in our Viennese waltz, you had to tell me when I did the thing.
And so a lot of times he's talking to me like, one, two. Like he'll tell the steps.
It's so loud. And, you know, we have like keywords.
Like when we're rehearsing, like, okay, head back or like heel step. Frame, whatever.
And like, I just, I guess I get so used to it. And like, I'm like, oh, this is going to be a good trigger for her to remember.
So like when we're dancing live and the music is loud and the people are loud, I'm like, head back. As Alona's manager, it's important that I wake up refreshed and instantly ready to tackle the day.
That's why I love Now Brief and Galaxy AI on my Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, because they give me all the important stuff before I've even had my coffee. My schedule? Boom.
It's right there. I don't have to scroll through a million emails to know where I need to be.
The weather? Now I know whether I need an umbrella later or if I can finally wear that cute skirt without freezing. With my phone on my Galaxy Watch 7, I even get my energy score so I know if I'm thriving or if it's a three coffee minimum kind of day.
And the best part, it updates throughout the day. Got a last minute change in plans? Now Brief keeps me on top of it.
Need a heads up about traffic before heading out? Already handled. Basically, Now Brief handles the organization for me so I can just be present.
And honestly, that's kind of25 ultra is my brain's new favorite teammate disclaimer now brief displays daily select information from select apps some apps may require internet connection and or consent to access data personal data intelligence must be enabled galaxy ai features by samsung are free through 2025 and require samsung account login alona was telling us that dancers have a certain sounds that they each make for each beat. What is yours? Is that the way to describe it? Yeah, he does a lot of that.
Like Emma does ka, ka. Ka should still say ka.
I would do like, ooh, ah, ay. But you, yeah, yeah, ay, you do a lot of that.
And then even when you're dancing with like pros, you like to make noise and you're like pointing, winking, like you're very much so in it. It's almost like fighters have a sound.
Like boxers, they make a sound with it as well. Or like tennis.
I'm like, I turn. I told you though, for like the New Yorker, I was like, make a noise.
Oh yeah. Hey! And then it was, wait, hey! And it works.
I don't know why, but it works. I can feel like you didn't want to do that to start with I did not I still don't want to do that I still would rather not it wasn't natural to me it gets to be natural I don't know I'm just like fighters when I lift in the gym I have a sound I do like but when you're running on the pitch and a girl's chasing you, you don't make noise? No, I'm too busy.
I have a breathing. Yeah.
But when I run, I'm like, whoo, whoo, whoo. Interesting.
You need to probably sort that out, actually. Like McConaughey.
Yeah, right, right. But I do think it's interesting and I think we should talk about is we get a lot of shippers online of us, like shippers but i think what we built was like a really beautiful friendship yeah and i think people like aren't used to seeing that of like a man and a woman who are just genuinely enjoy time like we built like first off we're very similar at times to the point where i was like i'm gonna punch this guy in the face because he's too much like me i'm surprised she did it yeah there was moments i did it But I think what was special and people don't get to see often is a sort of friendship like that.
Where it's so like people who enjoy spending time together for a common goal. And like, we love the shippers.
It was so funny to us, but like we just in genuinely, I hope we're friends for life. Yeah, no, I think- So you get your new partner.
No, she's gonna show... You're gonna show up there.
We'll just see it. Yeah, right.
With a sign. Boom, I'm out.
Boom. She's with the paparazzi.
That's my partner. Boom, you suck.
You can't even lift him. Yeah.
No, I think like our friendship was so special. Again, it's because, you know, we were just having fun.
Yeah. There's a lot of platonic chemistry.
Yeah. And that's what people picked what people picked up on it's like that's so cool you guys could build a friendship and relationship like that which i think also like i went into the show like knowing like you're around this person all the time you're you're constantly spending time with them i was like i kind of treated i was like alan's my coach like whenever somebody becomes my coach that's like i start to respect him and look up to him that way and i think that what's made us flourish is like knowing like this is not a working relationship but like we're here for a common goal we're here to create something and we're here for a bigger purpose of like inspiring america whatever it was and that i think allowed us to get even closer because you are you're doing you're spending time together you're doing dances where you have to get super close it's like knowing what our our vibe was and and what we wanted to do i think really just like bonded us as well yeah and then also when that one guy messaged you really bothered us yeah so somebody you know who messaged me she called you right away okay i got a dm i can't say who it was from can't say but i freaked out and then i was like alan do you see who this is oh alan yeah yeah yeah i went to the producers i was like everybody take a look everybody take a look i think i danced the best yeah we did the dancer after that i was like do it for him the best dancer if she did it like that we would have won the show week five and we would have been over i had to dance for him after that i was like love that guy no it's it's interesting and i mean you know you've been through so many partners but it's like you have to build a relationship in some ways with this person no i think that's what it is is like when people say the word relationship it's not always romantic yeah you know it's a friendship it's a it's family it's a relationship and our friendship our relationship was very like like i'm gonna look out for you no matter what you know you're honestly family like i'm not gonna let anything bad happen to you i want to see you happy i want all this yeah and i and i felt that from you not so much from olivia no i know she was also cold hearted bitch she calls me king it's great handsome king yeah no i think that honestly that made my time on the show so good because I was afraid of like, what if I don't like my partner?

What if this happens?

Whatever.

So it just really brings it up when you're friends with a person.

But it is it is tough to be friends.

What would you want to be with anyone else?

No.

Unless.

No, I wouldn't. Now I look at everybody else and I was like, I don don't think the partnership that we had i don't think not to sound like boastful i don't think we'll be created again i think it was a once in a lifetime partnership of also two people who like as as i said again not the normal dancer somebody who's going to highlight that and work with that and i think it was like i think a lot of people i think it was refreshing refreshing it wasn't just like oh a showman uh a showmance or like yes you know it wasn't like oh they're doing no they're friends and they care about each other i think it was like like my teammate like to me you were my teammate like how i would treat you know naya the people you go through the trenches with you know the people you do your conditioning days with who you're just like you you're bonded in some way that makes you feel that because it's it was a lot of work i had a lot of breakdowns we've had a lot of breakdowns together did we cry we've cried a lot together i there's been moments where he's walked out of the room and i've been like i'm going to my corner i'm going to crafty he's going to crafty and i would go to my corner then i'd lay on the ground and then he'd be like hey she's scary when she's in that state yeah you guys know her you can talk about my moods as well where I just get quiet no I want them to say we've been talking about this but like I would get texts from Alan being like hey is she okay is there anything I can do i'm like literally no let her be but i would get quiet i would say i would get quiet with you in training because i was trying to process everything and i never had an excuse for it so i think some people would be like well i didn't do this because this yeah that's one thing you never gave an excuse yeah you literally i messed that up how do i do it again and i'm like oh i don't know how to react to this so i would this.
I would look at him like this. He's saying something.
I'm like. Then I would just do it again.
It's weird not having an excuse. It's great.
But also at the same time. I was like.
She's maybe not. Maybe she's plotting my demise.
Both. Maybe.
Some days both. Who knows? To me, so we did Dancing with the Stars juniors once.
And that's where I would teach the couple. Yeah.
But I wouldn't get to dance with them on stage. Yeah.
And that was even more stressful. Really? Because like with you, if something happens, I can like say the trigger word and get you back on yeah or pull it pull me around they're over there it's like it's like you guys watching her like oh god just do it right don't mess up you're like there's no way to help no how did you guys feel watching her i mean you were in the audience a lot yeah you came a few times every show olivia huh i mean you came i was, like, more than half of them.
Did you ever notice the mess-ups or anything? I think I noticed, like, maybe one thing. But, like, even during the drive.
The drive, like, after you were done and, like, went over. And I was like, why are the Lana crying? I think someone was like, she messed up.
And I was like, I didn't see her mess-ups. I was like, what are you talking about? And it's still, like, it's also because I don't have, like, the eye.
But I didn't see it. But then afterwards, like, every other dance, I'd be on the edge of my seat.
I'm like, what are you talking about? And it's still like, it's also because I don't have like the eye, but I didn't see it. But then afterwards, like every other dance, I'd be on the edge of my seat.
I'm like gripping. And I was like, okay, it's only a minute.
Okay, it looks good. Looks good.
And just like with my untrained eye trying to see it all. Do you guys get stressed when she's playing rugby? Yes.
Oh my God. The body is like so taut.
Just like. So same thing there.
But I think I was, I got to see a lot of the dances before you actually went out there so it was a bit of a dance mom like you were more than that one week you had the air horn oh yeah alan bought me an air horn he had it like door dashed or whatever over and i danced around them because it got so loud in there when you dance that we needed to like train alona like a spooked horse into like being okay with distractions and noises.

So I was just running around.

I have an air horn.

I'm calling her ugly.

I'm like, it's a whole thing.

But I mean, I think it helps.

Yeah, you suck.

So like I only noticed slight errors because I knew the dances so much like with you.

I was literally in the audience like, okay.

Listen, you not only became better at not even making errors, but then I think you got really good at like if there was an error you didn't show it yeah you know and honestly like the last again the last three or four weeks you nailed like you didn't mess up i messed up in the paso once remember i got to to after we did the we got out of the pivots and we do i missed up there but then i just waited for

you yeah i was like oh yeah but you couldn't even see i think we saw we felt it there's a

time to dance we both know we're like it was great yeah um but you often say that like he

choreographed for your body made you feel obviously very beautiful very sensual right like did you

did your body image like or your perception of it you always talk body appreciation how was that throughout dancing with the stars don't know if i think it was just cool to test my body in a different way right like learning the different movements like the splits i can do a split i can't actually i think i don't think i could anymore i think i would be up this would be me um i think testing your body in a different way like feeling that sensuality for it and it was just cool because i'm always trying to see what else my body is capable of and and you know even lifting you and this sort of way being lifted as well like oh look at me i'm such so tiny i'm like a light butterfly you know delicate but i guess

it's not only for women but also for she was a fairy it was not only for women but like as a dancer is there issues with body image as well for you as a man well i think in general anyone on tv probably has body issues a dancer for sure because i think again the dancer has a a mold that they have to fit in you know i definitely feel like i've had body dysmorphia you know i also you know you put so much on yourself that like you don't even know what really looks good but you're like oh i don't feel good i don't look good this person doesn think I look good. So I clearly don't look good.
I've learned to love myself a lot more. Believe it or not, I love myself.
No, I'm kidding. I realized though, for me, like going to the gym isn't just about looking good.
Like mentally makes me feel good. You know, like after workout, I'm like, oh, I'm not not only proud of myself but like the endorphins are running and and mentally i feel better and you know it just it makes my mood better i kind of you know obviously i still look in the mirror i want to make sure that i fit the mold and look good and have a six pack but also that's the thing about your job is it's so much how you look too.
It is how you move it in a look. Whereas I'm like, it's about how I look, but it's more like how I run, perform, you know, whereas you was like how you look up there every night.
So like, yeah, definitely body dysmorphia is a thing. You know, it's like when I was younger or even like, well, I did.
So you think you you can dance and i remember like back then i would always be shirtless and i look back at it like three years later i was like what was i doing like i was like so not confident in myself that i just wanted to be shirtless to like oh i believe in myself and then i realized and then i think i went like in a long period of time like not posting shirt shirtless. Cause I was like, why am I doing this? Like, why am I insecure about this? Who am I posting it for? Yeah.
And then I got in shape and I started posting more. More shirtless.
No, but you know, it was more of like, I'm, I, before the season, I went on a strict diet and I got really in shape and I was more proud of myself. Yeah.
Not because I looked a certain way, but because I was like, I set a goal and I achieved it. Yeah.
You know, I truly believe it's better to feel good as opposed to look good. Yeah.
Because what does it mean to look good? Everyone has different images and different ideas of what looks good and society shouldn't be the one. Yeah.
To tell you what looks good good or not and so i kind of learned that in the last like year or two and i feel like i i'm a much happier person about that and so i will enjoy a courage bagel with a lot of cream and i want to say too alan's an athlete alan and i would go work out he's putting numbers on i was like you want me to do how many reps of this yeah no we were like completely different back day just doing lat pull down yeah yeah and then he would come do some more like rugby based workouts with me and that was pretty good he was really good but i recently commented on his post like oh i hope you can keep up with me in the gym and someone was like alan doesn't need to keep up with you he's a dancer i was like this guy first off is an athlete athlete mentality he's gonna keep up with me if i'm doing another rep he's gonna do another if i'm adding more weight he's going to add more weight to keep up with you. He's a dancer.
I was like, this guy, first off, is an athlete. Athlete mentality, he's going to keep up with me.
If I'm doing another rep, he's going to do another rep. If I'm adding more weight, he's going to add more weight.
To anything, he's pushing me as well in the gym. I add weight because he's so...
Dancers are athletes too, guys. Yeah, no, I mean, it was fun working out with Ilona because I was like, I cannot let her outlift me.
You couldn't... Upper body, you're much stronger.
Upper body, but I was going to say, your legs are strong. Might have had him lower.
i also don't like doing legs because i have to dance and i'm like i don't want it to hurt oh yeah you know like i don't want to be like dancing like oh my legs but you are strong that's true strong that's true upper body i'm stronger but lower legs she got me there was weeks during the show there's a day she's like 8 a.m i'm going to the gym i was like oh go without me go without me there was just one but you were sick that day I think I think you said no because you were sick I was like I can't like other than that peer pressure gets you but it wasn't even peer pressure you were just like oh Lona's getting stronger positive peer pressure no but it's good but like I'm like oh she even though we're dancing for four hours a day she needs to go to the gym and like lift yeah it's good for her and I was And I was like, that's really interesting to see. Alan, anything you're looking forward to this year? What's next for you? What's happening? You're on tour now.
What's going on? You know, we're just finishing up a three and a half, four month tour right after the season. So I'm going to relax a little bit.
I got to do a few more like appearances and just dancing I'm excited for the next season obviously like I love dancing yeah but yeah I don't know I want to just do some other things I still feel like what camera and I look at Elona and I need to have our own show anyone using this wants to I think we try things we try things number one hobbying. Him and I send videos to each other because I'm like, this is impressive.
Yeah. The jumps they're doing.
The jumps they're doing. The jumps they're doing.
The jumps they're doing. The jumps they're doing.
The jumps they're doing. The jumps they're doing.
The jumps they're doing. The jumps they're doing.
And one time, the horse was not behaving. Oh, I've seen that one.
And they would pet the horse. That's great.
Alan and I would actually be really good. I couldn't jump high, but we'd love to try it.
Straight up, not making fun of it, straight up want to do it. No, because we want to give it our all and try it.
You'd get into it too. I'm telling you, I want to do a whole show with Ilona of like trying things because skydiving.
She doesn't want to do skydiving. Please don't skydive.
But I'm a maker of skydiving. Yeah, there's no reason.
Don't go jump, high dive. I wouldn't high dive.
I'd go off of a little diver. Surfing.
I can get Sky Brown. Yeah.
Sky Brown will teach us how to surf. I'm telling you.
Oh, cool. The show is there.
If you want to keep this magic going. Yeah.
If you want to see Ilona do things and me do things, probably just as good. If not better.
You know what I've said? If not better. Amazing race.
You guys. Olivia and I.
Against us. Oh.
Good luck. Can you guys drive sick? Yep.
That's always. I've done it twice-ish.
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Alan and I will join.
Who's eating the weird things Between the two of us One time I have to eat a goat head Oh no you're doing that I don't eat pork or shellfish So I'm about to go It's goat You will jump off the things I will will eat the weird things. And he will be driving.
Perfect partnership. Perfect.
So yeah, we're going to do a show. I don't know when.
You guys are invited. Thank you.
I will say this. Though I'm being mean about your partner next season, I do hope you get a great partner and that you also have a great relationship with them as well.
I will be sad. I don't know if I'll be able to watch it.
She just will be watching. I genuinely don't know.
You will be there. I don't think I'll be able to watch it.
But I'll be like, I hope that you have like, I hope in a way each season now you can be like, that was my favorite partner. That was my favorite partner.
Cause I think that's just the life, right? Like hoping that for the next best one, next best one. Yeah.
You know, again, like there's, you always say, Oh, who's your ideal partner? I get that question all the time. Who do you want as your partner? And like, you never like, Oh, I want somebody who's going to care and be there be there.
You were honestly an ideal partner. You were likable.
You tried really hard. You made it fun.
And so like it's gonna be hard to top. But hopefully you do.
Hopefully we do. But it will be tough but I do hope you get amazing partners and you win a mirror ball even though it wasn't with me.
That's big of you though. Thank you..
I just want to say that. I'm going to wear a wig next year.
Yeah. Hello.
She's a football player now. You suck.
Hello. Oh, from the crowd.
Oh, she's going to dance with that. She's in the crowd like heckling them.
I'll heckle them for sure. She's not a heckle like that.
She's going to put a wig on. Yeah, no, I'll be, I'll be, you'll know it's me.
You'll know it's me when I'm being mean to him. Yeah.
Let's cool it off today with Sister Settle It. Need advice or just want to share a sisterly struggle? Send us a DM or voice note at House of Mar for a chance to be featured on the show.
Alan, do you have a sibling struggle that you want to share with us that we can help with? We'll tackle? I don't have a sibling struggle, but I have a lot of stories. So growing up, my family did not come from a lot of money, and I don't know why we started dancing.
But my brother would get like all the dance lessons from like the coaches. And he would like give me the hand-down lessons.
The trickle-down lessons. He was my teacher my whole life.
So like, and he's still, we have a dance studio in Minnesota. Shout out, Dance With Us America.
No, shout it out. Shout it out.
Shout it out. Shout it out.
And so, like, he is honestly phenomenal. He's seven years older than me.
We have a sister in the middle who also, we all danced. So, like, we would take, like, road trips to Chicago and, like, go to competitions.
And we just spent every day together. We were best friends.
But obviously, we fought a lot. Oh, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, I remember in the dance studio, me and my brother would like do turn competitions. Just like to see who's better.
And like we would just like random stuff. But obviously it was like, you know, it made us better.
Now we're really good. All three of us were, you know, we go in business together and everything we do, we love each other.
There's nobody like family. You guys know.
You can really pick on each other but also rely on each other. Those hand-me-down lessons obviously got you where you are today.
Oh, yeah. So what do you recommend to someone else who's trying to learn dance who might be in a similar situation, like in today's day and age? Yeah think it's just you know find the people you trust

and trust them you know even if i grew up in tough love you know but and that's not always

the right approach but like know that like the people who have your back they truly care about

you um it is funny on so you think you can dance and i feel like this was my brother's dream more

than mine um he wanted to be on so you dance we auditioned together and there was something

Thank you. is funny on so you think you can dance and i feel like this was my brother's dream more than mine um he wanted to be on so you dance we auditioned together and there was something called green mile where they picked the last 20 people that are on the show and like they made us go together and like we're standing there together and they're like okay alan you're gonna be on the show and like i started crying because i was more devastated right so like obviously the show was assholes because they like drama.
But like I really would have loved it for us to both be together. Yeah, yeah.
Because you know growing up he was my role model and idol. And it's amazing to see just like when you look up to somebody, especially family, it's you know know, you guys both grow together.
It's it's really, really awesome. So very lucky to have siblings.
But he's still very supportive of you now. I mean, it's kind of like like Olivia, my older sister and what I've done, like the way that they still support you.
But not put aside their egos, but are like, this is also my blood. Like, I'm going to whatever they're doing, I'm going to support it.
Maybe I would love to would love to do it too but like this is something that's amazing for them exactly my brother him and his wife um they still compete in dancing and they're phenomenal amazing they're in the finals like they're in the top like six in america and they're really really good but like he can put that aside and be like hey everyone make sure to vote for my brother like look brother. Like, look what he's doing.
They came to the finals. They came to the finals.
Literally just flew in that day just to support. Should have gotten a mirror ball trophy for them.
It was for them. My mom broke her shoe.
Because she was there sitting, waiting for the results. And she was so stressed.
Like my siblings, my brother Gene and my sister Melanie will like buy my parents nice gifts

because they don't so we like bought her a pair of

Louboutins and she wore them

and she got so nervous she broke the eagle

no nice Alona

way to go Alona what the hell

you're a part of this too sir

you owe my mom new shoes

one thing about Alan's brother Gene Burst

he has three daughters

and these girls can dance

your little niece is in you

It's... new shoes.
One thing about Alan's brother, Gene Burstyn, look him up, he has three little, three daughters and these girls can dance. Oh yeah, I love those videos.
Your little nieces and you dance to them all the time. They are amazing dancers too.
So it's like, it's amazing to have that close-knit family. I know not a lot of people, some people have it, but like, it's rare to have that.
You guys have that and it's so special. But yeah, no, it's amazing amazing even now like my family and i we just bought a dance competition and i was on tour so i wasn't able to be there but i was facilitating everything and like struggling but they handle it all so well so it's like you know my brother and sister they're just you know they're they're family and you can't you can't beat, you can't.
You might get annoyed with them, but you love them. Yeah, absolutely.
Not with you guys. I would never.
No, no, no. She never said anything better.
No, no, never. Thanks so much for coming over to the House of Mar, a Wave original, presented by the new Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.
Be sure to watch and subscribe on YouTube and listen wherever you get your podcasts. Please follow the show on social media at House of Mar for clips and BTS content.

Thank you so much, Alan, for coming on.

Honestly, you know, my buddy, we had to talk about it.

They wanted to hear it.

And you've been an absolute pleasure and honor to have you here.

See you next time.

Not you, probably, though.

Get out. Yeah, I know.

I'll see you guys.

Doors over there.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

Doors over there.

Thanks for coming over.

See you next time. Oh, over there.
Yeah. Yeah.
Doors over there. Thanks for coming over.
See you next time.

Oh no, I'm stuck here.