Olympian Ilona Maher gives ‘Dirty Dancing’ lift a twist on ‘DWTS’

Ilona Maher is having the time of her life.

The Olympic bronze medalist got the opportunity to put her own twist on the famous Dirty Dancing lift while delivering a salsa with Dancing With the Stars pro partner Alan Bersten. Maher and Bersten danced to 1987’s classic song, “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” by Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes.

But anyone who’s seen Dirty Dancing — and even probably many that haven’t — know that particular song is accompanied by an impressive lift, one that Baby (Jennifer Grey) and Johnny (Patrick Swayze) spend the whole film trying to get right.

Not to be outdone, Bersten and Maher introduced three lifts to their salsa routine. Bersten first lifted Maher into a flip, which she then repeated, lifting him, which fans had been calling for online since the song choice was announced.

But Bersten decided that nobody puts Ilona in a corner, and he gave her a moment to shine, leading her into the film’s iconic overhead lift. Judge Carrie Ann Inaba praised the sequence after their dance, noting that it was part of Maher’s journey reshaping the conversation about femininity.

Maher admitted that giving herself over to such a move was quite challenging. “I never really get lifted, so it’s tough for me,” she said. “It was a lot of trust to put in him to get lifted. It was scary, but fun.”

The couple landed a respectable score of 21 from the judges for their routine, bringing their two-week total to 39 points.

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Dancing With the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+.