Alan Bersten

In November 2019, Alan Bersten, a four-season pro on Dancing With The Stars, captured the coveted Mirror Ball, winning season 28, along side his celebrity partner, ABC’s The Bachelorette Hannah Brown.

The Minnesota native spent four season as a member of the DWTS Troup and made his mark stepping in for Mark Ballas in season 22, when Ballas suffered a back injury, allowing for this forever-smiling dancer to salsa with UFC fighter Paige VanZant. During season 24, Alan again was elevated to pro for four weeks dancing with GLEE actress Heather Morris, while Maks Chmerkovskiy recovered from an injury.

Alan earned his full-time spot as a one of the male pros for season 25, partnered with Broadway actress and 80s singing sensation Debbie Gibson. During season 26, the “All Athletes” season, he reached the semi-finals with partner Mirai Nagasu, US Olympic skater. In season 27, Alan was paired with model Alexis Ren, making it to the finals.

One of his proudest professional moments however, was being the mentor and choreographer for the first ever, Dancing With the Stars: Juniors. Under his guidance, skater and surf prodigy Sky Brown, along with junior pro JT Church, won the season.

In the winter and early spring of 2020, Alan will again travel the county with the Dancing With the Stars: Live! tour. This will be his sixth season on the road with this not to be missed show. Born and raised in Minnesota to Russian Jewish immigrant parents, Alan started dancing at the age of 7. Growing up, he became proficient in contemporary, jazz, hip-hop, Bollywood and Broadway. His diverse dance acumen led him to win Youth Championship and Under 21 National Titles.

At 18, Alan was a finalist on season 10 of the Fox hit So You Think You Can Dance, finishing in the Top 6 Males. He performed a memorable blindfolded contemporary piece that had never been done. Later, was part of the North American SYTYCD tour, and joined Burn the Floor for their world tour. After traveling the globe, he received a recurring role on season six of GLEE, as part of the show choir, Vocal Adrenaline.

MILLENNIAL HEALTH ADVOCATE:

In January 2018, while traveling with the Dancing with The Stars: Live! tour, Alan learned he had hyperparathyroidsim, and the pro dancer hopes that through his own diagnosis and surgery, it will encourage others to get their annual physicals.

After on and off stomach pains, trips to urgent care, and a battery of blood tests, the then 23 year old, learned of his condition and that to treat this potentially fatal disease, an endocrinologist would have to remove the tumor located on the thyroid gland, which helps control the amount of calcium in the blood.

“Just the word tumor is so frightening, and not knowing if it was cancer or not was almost debilitating. I needed to deal with it immediately and not wait for the tour to end. Life doesn’t wait for you. If something doesn’t feel right, act now.” The day after getting his diagnosis, Alan flew back to his hometown of Minneapolis to visit an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic and immediately scheduled surgery, removing the tumor in his left parathyroid gland, finding that it was not cancerous. Due to Alan’s rigorous dance schedule, he was lucky to learn of his hyperparathyroidsim, as most patients don’t know until they have a broken bone or kidney stone due to the lack of calcium in their blood. If left untreated, Alan’s memory could have been affected, in addition to severe fatigue and muscle aches, and more, possibly ending his dance career.

Today, he wears his one inch scar on his neck post-surgery as a badge of courage and strength. Through his own health crisis, he inspires people, young and old, to listen to their body and be their own best health advocate.

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEAUR & CO-FOUNDER OF FROWN:

What happens when a “bromance” flourishes between Dancing With the Stars pro Alan Bersten and The Bachelorette’s and DWTS celeb dancer “Grocery Store Joe” Amabile? The answer, the launch of FROWN, a clothing line which dedicates a portion of the proceeds toward the international charity, Smile Train.

You know that old saying, "turn that Frown upside down"? FROWN Clothing believes in the power of a smile. Alan and Joe created this brand with the idea that every smile is beautiful and has the power to change the world. FROWN’s purpose is that by wearing the brand with a smile, it will spread the happiness.

FROWN is proud to partner with Smile Train, who’s single focus is to help children born with a cleft lip and palate. Many children around the world live with this solvable issue which causes difficulty eating, breathing, hearing, and speaking. Cleft repair surgery is safe, and the transformation is immediate. Smile Train affords training, funding, and resources to empower local medical professionals in 90+ countries to provide 100%-free cleft repair surgery and comprehensive cleft care in their own communities.

With a platform that reaches nearly 10 million viewers each week as a pro dancer and choreographer on DWTS and a social media following of nearly 600,000 people, Alan understands that it is important to tap in to that fandom to do good in the world and help make a difference it the lives of the children globally.

INFLUENCER:

Alan makes it a point to regularly engage with his fans through the power of social media. Be it creating original dance content to a fan’s favorite song, to consumer brand collaborations or simply letting everyone in to his day to day life, Alan enjoys building these relationships.