Team USA Rugby star Ilona Maher made her Dancing With The Stars debut on Tuesday (September 17) to a classic Shania Twain hit that continues to spread her message of body empowerment.
Ilona Maher is a bronze medal-winning member of the 2024 Paris Olympics’ Team USA Rugby. She gained lots of attention when she posted content throughout her time at the Olympic Village, promoting body positivity and raising awareness about women’s sports and women’s rugby, specifically.
As you can see in the video below, she is about as badass as they come, but she still wants to remind women they can be badass and feminine and that strength comes in all sizes. She even wears makeup on the field for games and will rarely be seen without her signature red lips!
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The bronze medal was historic because no USA Rugby team, men or women, had ever medaled at the Olympics before!
Maher was announced as one of the celebrities joining Season 33 of Dancing With The Stars. She will be competing against the likes of former NFL star Danny Amendola, Bachelor star Joey Graziadei, reality star Phaedra Parks, and so many more.
On September 14, the Dancing With The Stars Instagram gave us a hint as to what Maher and her pro partner, Alan Bersten, would be dancing to when they captioned one of their videos, “Let’s go girls!”
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To kick off Season 33, Maher and Bersten danced the Cha Cha to the Shania Twain hit “Man! I Feel Like A Woman.”
This song is all about woman empowerment, and that’s what Maher’s message is all about. She loves to inspire young girls of all shapes and sizes and encourage them that they can be whatever they want to be.
Maher proved that she is as fierce on the dance floor as she is on the rugby pitch! The crowd went wild when they hit their final pose!
They received a score of 18 out of 30, and had favorable feedback from the judges!
To celebrate their scores, Maher and Bersten jumped and did a chest bump which sent the whole cast into a fit of laughter.
Carrie Ann Inaba told her, “I love everything that you are about. And the way you stepped on that dance floor, I know you were nervous. I know you were nervous. That first move, you kind of jumped the gun a little bit, but just like rugby, you kind of just go with it, right?”
Judge Derek Hough said, “I could feel the nerves a little bit, the timidness, but you come from a sport that’s all about impact, right? You can have impact in dance as well. Go out there with the confidence, with all the confidence that you have, and we want to see that on the dance floor. But really for a first dance, great job.”
Bruno Tonioli jumped in by saying, “Yes, my darling, they’re absolutely right. As a cha-cha-cha, it was very correct. But I’m telling you, go more than that. You’re great, you’re beautiful, let it all hang out and show them. Don’t feel afraid! Never be afraid!'”
Watch Ilona Maher dance the cha cha to “Man! I Feel Like A Woman” during her Dancing With The Stars debut below!