Alan Bersten Says Having Hannah Brown's Parents in 'DWTS' Rehearsals Was 'Exactly What We Needed' (Exclusive)

Throughout the season, pro dancer Alan Bersten will be guest blogging about his experience on Dancing With the Stars with his celeb partner, Hannah Brown, for ET. This week, he discusses everything from his partner feeling homesick to what fans can expect from next week's Halloween Night.

Hi, everyone,

Hannah and I are moving on to week seven!!! We are so excited and so thankful. Thank you to all the fans for supporting us every week.

After our Samba to Carrie Underwood's "Southbound," the pressure is definitely on. Everyone is bringing their A-game. We are excited to get back into the studio and work really hard for this upcoming week! 

In the last few minutes of the show on Monday, we saw Ally Brooke and Sasha Farber in the bottom two with Sailor Brinkley-Cook and Val Chmerkovskiy going home. Honestly, when the elimination process is happening, you don't know what to expect. You hope to hear your names, but it was very scary being the last names called safe.

I think that at this point if anyone goes home it's a shocking elimination, just because everyone is so good. You can really tell everyone wants to be here. That's why the eliminations are so hard.  As we saw on Monday, the two highest scores of the night were in the bottom two. I think it is crucial that fans vote for their favorite partnership!

Sailor told ET she'd love to continue dancing and Val mentioned the possibility of her joining the Dancing With the Stars -- Live Tour 2020. I feel like the tour is a celebration of the show. It would be awesome to have Sailor on tour. 

Monday's show featured a sneak peek look at what fans can expect to see on tour. That performance came right before I danced with Hannah but I wasn’t feeling stressed -- I love dancing! We have such an incredible wardrobe team. They can make anything possible, especially quick changes. 

As for the part of the routine where I ripped my shirt open? Haha, well, the thing is, I did it as a joke in dress rehearsal, and Hannah started laughing and it gave us more energy for the dance. So I decided to keep it in! 

There are certain challenges that come with every dance, and Samba is one of the hardest dances on the show. That being said, doing a Samba to a country song has its added pressure. I honestly think Hannah did an incredible job, and she deserves a lot of credit! 

In the pre-taped package, fans saw that Hannah was feeling a bit homesick this past week in rehearsals. I don't want to speak for Hannah, but she has gone through so many changes this past year and doing that away from family can be very difficult. I totally see why she's homesick; Los Angeles is a whirlwind of a city.

I'm just glad her parents were able to come watch her dance and support her from the audience! I feel like Hannah's parents coming to our rehearsal was exactly what we needed! And the cookies Susan made were out of this world! 

Peta Murgatroyd (who was paired with Lamar Odom) also popped in to assist. Hannah and Peta are very close, and I want Hannah to feel as comfortable and confident as possible every week, so I decided to have Peta come in for a little. 

The season is very hard for all the celebrities. They are all learning something brand new and dancing in front of millions of people every week. That is very scary!!! But I think everyone loves being here so much and everyone is so supportive of each other, that it has created some really strong friendships.

Next week, it's Halloween night!!!! So it's going to be spooky!! We're doing a jazz and I'm very excited for it. It’s going to be a good storyline and Hannah has been so focused. I'm really excited for this one. 

Halloween is the best. Who doesn't love free candy? I think we might be in rehearsals, but I hope we can find some time to go trick or treating!!

Alan will be documenting his ballroom journey with Hannah all season long for ET. Got a question you want him to answer? Send them to ET's Desiree Murphy on Twitter or Instagram (@desireemurphy_) or in our Beyond the Ballroom Facebook group!

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Hannah Brown Pays Tribute to the South With Sexy Samba to Carrie Underwood's 'Southbound'

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