Jenna Dewan and her temporary partner, Alan Bersten, delivered an emotional tribute to the “Step Up” actress’ mother, Nancy Lee Bursch, during Tuesday’s “Dancing With the Stars” episode after a dramatic week behind the scenes.
The dancing duo earned a 37/40 for their Viennese waltz to “Unchained Melody” by The Righteous Brothers, which saw Bursch join them for the routine during “Dedication Night.”
In a pre-recorded intro package prior to the performance, Dewan praised her mother for a lifetime of support.
“When I was one and a half, my parents split up,” she told Bersten. “The rug was pulled out from underneath her, and she didn’t have time to deal with her own pain and mourn any of it. Instead, she gave up a lot to help me pursue my dreams.”
“If my mom can go through what she did and be loving and soft and graceful about it, I can do anything,” Dewan added.
Bursch, when she joined the duo in rehearsals, called it “such an honor” that her daughter wanted to honor her in this way.
“There’s nothing I can do or say to make her feel how much she impacted me,” Dewan said of her mom, “and it means so much to my heart and my soul to give her this.”
Dewan’s fiancé, Steve Kazee, was brought to tears by the routine, with judge Derek Hough calling Dewan a “class act” in his critiques.
Carrie Ann Inaba also praised the “Rookie” actress, saying, “I know this journey has been a lot. You continue to come out here, giving us all your heart, all your soul. That dance, to me, was the ultimate breakthrough. Your heart was open. You felt free. You felt light.
Inaba then told Bursch, “Mama, you must be so proud of this beautiful star that you created.”
Bersten stepped in to dance with Dewan for the emotional routine after her assigned pro, Val Chmerkovskiy, was suspended for a week.
Chmerkovskiy was punished after posting a controversial social media post where he clapped back at Inaba for giving his wife, fellow pro Jenna Johnson, tough on-air criticism.
“You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night,” Chmerkovskiy posted in a since-deleted TikTok post after Inaba claimed Johnson and actor Harry Shum Jr. had a lift in their routine during “Super Bowl Week.”
The choreographer immediately faced backlash for the post, which referenced Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars for talking about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
Smith followed up the attack by screaming, “Keep my wife’s name out your f–king mouth!”
Inaba responded to Chmerkovskiy’s comments via her Instagram Stories, writing, “So this is what we are doing now?”
In turn, the pro apologized to Inaba. However, BBC Studios announced his suspension from the forthcoming episode days later.
“Val’s social media post was inappropriate and does not reflect the values or standards expected of anyone connected with the show,” they said. “As a result, he will not participate in next week’s show.”
On Tuesday, Page Six exclusively reported, “Val will be watching [Tuesday night’s show] at home.
“The suspension took Val by surprise, but he took it gracefully and he understood. He fully expects to be back next week for the live show,” our source added.
Chmerkovskiy, who has danced on the ABC show for the past 15 years, “has sent lots of support to Jenna [Dewan] amid everything that’s going on and he knows that she and Alan are going to crush it this week.”
The insider noted, “He’s grateful to Alan for stepping in.”
New episodes of “DWTS” air Tuesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern on ABC and Disney+, and stream on Hulu the following day.
For more of Page Six’s “Dancing With the Stars” coverage, click here.
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