Jenna Dewan, Alan Bersten Reunite Amid Val Chmerkovskiy’s Suspension
Jenna Dewan's ‘DWTS’ Dedication Night Partner Revealed After Val Chmerkovskiy Suspension
Jenna Dewan and Alan Bersten are putting their best foot forward.
While Jenna’s partner Val Chmerkovskiy faces a one-week suspension from Dancing With the Stars, Dewan and Bersten shared an update on their rehearsals before they dance together during week six on Oct. 20.
“Hi everybody, it’s Dedication Night,” Dewan told cameras alongside Bersten in a video shared to the DWTS page’s Instagram Story Oct. 18. “And we are dancing a Viennese Waltz to ‘Unchained Melody’ by The Righteous Brothers, the greatest, most romantic song ever. So excited.”
The Step Up actress shared even more insight into her Dedication Night dance in an Instagram post, confirming she’d be dancing in tribute to her mom Nancy Lee Bursch.
“I’ve been thinking so much on all the things my mom has taught me throughout my life,” Dewan began the Oct. 18 carousel, which was full of photos with her mom over the years. “Not just in what she’s said, but in the way she’s lived and the example she’s always been for me.”
She continued, “To lead with kindness. To give people grace. To be strong without losing your softness. To keep your heart open, even when life doesn’t go quite the way you imagined.”
She wrote that her mom had long been her “biggest cheerleader” and was among the first to encourage Dewan in her dancing, which is why the Dedication Night performance feels so “full circle” for The Rookie actress.
Dancing With the Stars/Instagram
“As life goes on, the more I realize that some of the greatest gifts our parents give us aren’t things at all,” she wrote. “They’re the values we carry, the love we pass on, and the way we choose to show up in this world.”
Dewan—mom to daughter Everly, 13, with ex-husband Channing Tatum as well as kids Callum, 6, and Rhiannon, 2, with fiancé Steve Kazee—continued, “And I hope more than anything that I make her proud! Not necessarily through what I do in life, but in the person I am and the way I move through life. Love you so much mom!! This one’s for you.”
As for Chmerkovskiy, the longtime pro was suspended from the competition series for one week after he alluded to Will Smith’s infamous Oscars moment in the wake of an awkward interaction between his wife Jenna Johnson and judge Carrie Ann Inaba.
But while some people interpreted his comments as a reference to Smith’s slap of Chris Rock, Chmerkovskiy was adamant he only meant to refer to Smith’s comment of, “Keep my wife’s name out your f--king mouth.”
Eric McCandless/Disney
“In a moment where my instinct was to defend my wife,” Chmerkovskiy wrote on social media following his suspension, “I made a poor decision to reference a meme to ‘keep my wife's name’ out of the conversation, without stopping to think through what else that reference could imply, which was genuinely never my intention.”
“Carrie Ann certainly didn't deserve to get caught in the middle of my bad judgment, and I hate that she was,” he continued. “The last thing I want is to become a distraction from an important week or from the incredible work my dance partner Jenna Dewan is putting in.”
But in light of the news, he asked fans to show up with a little more during the special week.
“Please send Carrie Ann, Jenna, and the whole DWTS family lots of love during Dedication Night,” he concluded. “I'll be watching and cheering everyone on!!”
For more on this season’s celebrity and pro pairings, read on.
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Julia Stiles & Ezra Sosa
You won't hate this news—the 10 Things I Hate About You star will be saving the last dance for her pro partner.
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Giada De Laurentiis & Alan Bersten
Cha-cha-chopping away... The celebrity chef will be turning up the heat this season.
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Harry Shum Jr. & Jenna Johnson
What did you miss on Glee? The actor taking his musical talents to the dance floor.
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Taylor Hanson & Britt Stewart
The former '90s teen heartthrob will hope to MMMBop his way to the top of the leaderboard on season 35.
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Tatyana Ali & Jan Ravnik
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air actress will be bringing her fresh moves to the dance floor.
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Jenna Dewan & Val Chmerkovskiy
Twenty years after starring in Step Up, the dancer is stepping up to the challenge.
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Amber Glenn & Pasha Pashkov
The 2026 Olympic figure skater will take her skills from the ice to the ballroom.
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Ezra Frech & Daniella Karagach
The Team USA Paralympic track and field athlete will show off his athleticism on DWTS.
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Sarah Jane Nader & Hailey Bills
After sister Brooks Nader competed on season 33, the Love Thy Nader star is trying her hand.
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Connor Wood & Rylee Arnold
The comedian, also known as Fibula on social media, is ready to earn more applause on DWTS.
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Conner Leavitt & Adele Zaikman
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star is following in the footsteps of wife Whitney Leavitt—who competed on season 34.
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Tyler Cameron & Sharna Burgess
The Bachelor Nation star is trading in roses for rumbas.
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Jackson Olson & Emma Slater
The Savannah Bananas baseball player is stepping up to the plate, bringing his dance moves from the diamond to the ballroom.
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Guillermo Rodriguez & Witney Carson
The Jimmy Kimmel Live! star is ready to learn some new moves.
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Ciara Miller & Brandon Armstrong
The Summer House star is prepping for her turn in the ballrom.
"Looks are not indicative of being in shape," Ciara exclusively told E! News in June. "I do huff and puff going up the stairs, so I gotta get back into the gym and work on my stamina."
Disney/Andrew Eccles
Maura Higgins & Mark Ballas
The Love Island UK alum is hoping her love for DWTS doesn't betray her as she manifested this experience.
"I have a vision board and I redo it every year," she told E! News in May. "This year is the first year that I stayed at home by myself on New Year's Eve. I did not go out at all. I made myself a bowl of pasta and a glass of red wine and I redid my vision board for the year. Dancing With the Stars was already on it from the year before. However, I added five more Dancing With the Stars on the board."
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