Ilona Maher couldn’t be happier to get their first nine of them Dancing with the stars season despite some confusion from the judge Carrie Ann Inaba.

“At first I wasn’t sure because she was holding up an eight and then she was holding up a ten and I was really confused and you couldn’t see anything,” Maher, 28, said exclusively Us weekly following the Tuesday, Oct. 22, episode of the ABC competition series.

your partner, Alan BerstenAs the results were announced, he was still wearing his donkey mask from the couple’s Disney Night performance. “I couldn’t see anything,” he teased. “But I felt the nine.”

The duo received 25 out of 30 points for their jazz dance to “Surface Pressure” from the animated film Encanto. Maher portrayed the role of Luisa Madrigal for the performance, while Bersten, 30, and the DWTS The troupe played the donkeys featured in the 2021 film’s memorable musical number.

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Inaba, 56, and other judges Derek Hough And Bruno Tonioli reminded Maher and Bersten to balance their mix of storytelling and dancing. Maher told Us that it was “so much fun” to embrace her inner Disney character, but also understood her criticism.

“Every week we listen and try to get better, and he’s always listening,” she shared. “So, I think we’ll try to give them a lot next week, be it steps and choreos.”

Maher and Bersten finished the night with a combined score of 34 points after scoring all nines for their points A silly film Group dance with Joey Graziadei And Jenna Johnson, Jenn Tran And Sasha Farber And Chandler Kinney And Brandon Armstrong. During the joyous routine, Maher lifted Johnson, 30, into the air in what Hough, 39, said was the “best lift of the entire competition.”

Bertsen said Us He both agreed and disagreed with Hough’s comment. “The boost she gave me at the end (of our ‘Surface Pressure’ dance), putting me on her shoulders… That’s iconic,” he said. “Light up! But no disrespect.”

Maher, for her part, said lifting people is easy because of her career as a professional rugby player. “Whenever they do it in practice, they’re like, ‘Oh my God.’ That’s so cool.’ And I thought, ‘This is something I always do,'” she quipped.

Bersten praised his partner meaningfully Us“She picked Jenna up with her arms outstretched. She just put them up there. And that is very difficult. A lot of guys can’t do that. Ilona has so much strength and she just knows how to lift weights. She listens really well. She studies very well. And it’s just amazing to see.”

Maher returned the kind words, calling Bersten “magical” and gushing about how he made the dance feel “very special” for her. “There’s never been a dance where I thought, ‘Oh, I don’t feel good,’ or ‘I feel like I don’t look good,'” she said Us. “He always makes me believe in myself and really feel like, ‘Oh, you’re doing really well.'”

Bersten went on to call Maher “unique,” ​​adding, “She’s selfless. She tries harder than anyone I’ve ever met. She trusts me. And she just goes out there and it’s so beautiful to see her being herself. And when Ilona is on this floor and is fair and believes in herself, there is nothing better. So it’s magical.”

The two moved on to next week’s Halloween Nightmare episodes. Phaedra Parks and professional dancers Val Chmerkovskiy were eliminated.

Dancing with the stars airs simultaneously on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+ on ABC. You can stream episodes on Disney+ the next day.

With reporting by Carly Konsker