After three years as a Dancing With the Stars pro, 25-year-old Alan Bersten may finally have a shot at taking home the Mirrorball trophy this season. Paired up with his newest partner, former Bachelorette Hannah Brown, the duo have quickly become frontrunners in the ballroom dancing competition.

Despite recently being on the receiving end of some unexpectedly harsh criticisms from the judges — something Brown feels may be the result of the judges mistakenly thinking she has more dance experience than she does — Bersten and Brown had a strong start to the competition and have consistently been earning some of the highest scores each week. The duo seem to have a strong working relationship and amazing chemistry, which shows in their dances.

While speaking to Woman's Day, Bersten said that he and Brown became fast friends and he feels like that has helped immensely with their performances. The high-quality performances that the couple brings to the stage, Bersten says, is thanks to how detail-oriented the both of them are.

"Honestly it’s very funny, we both have the same personality where we want to be the best but we’re also perfectionists and we’re very hard on ourselves," the Minnesota native said. "So when it’s good, it’s going so well and we’re getting so much done but the second we both kind of get into that mindset of ‘It could be better, it could be better,’ or, like, ‘We need to do this better,’ that’s kind of when it becomes a little bit harder to get through."

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Over the weeks, they have grown and discovered what works best for them — namely, knowing to take a break when they're getting too bogged down in the details — and it shows in their increasingly impressive routines.

"She really wants this, she’s having the time of her life I think and it shows on the floor when she goes out there and enjoys every dance and she’s doing some hard stuff out there, so I’m really proud of her. I spend every day with her so I see how much she grows every day and it’s outstanding to see that," Bersten said, later adding, "She has been such a hard worker and I think that’s one of her strongest attributes that she never gives up. If she doesn’t get the step right right away, she literally won’t leave the studio until she does."

This season on Dancing With the Stars has also seen a few behind-the-scenes shakeups from a new judging rule that allows the judges to have the final say on which of the bottom two contestants goes home each week, to a shift in the creative control of the dances. Bersten says that the new format is a welcomed change to the show.

"You know I think any change is a good opportunity to grow and I honestly love the new judges rule," Bersten said. "It puts a lot more accountability on them, you know, they’re the ones giving the scores, they’re influencing the people."

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As for the creative changes, which saw a shift from the dance pros having control over all aspects of the dance including the costumes, set, and music, to only being responsible for the choreography, Bersten says that he couldn't be happier with the creative team who now oversees those aspects.

"With the music and the costumes, I feel like the creative team is doing a great job picking really iconic songs that really resonate with people," he said.

Although he's having a blast competing on the show every week, Bersten said he's looking forward to hitting the road for the Dancing With the Stars tour early next year. Beginning in January, Bersten and his fellow DWTS cast mates will pile into tour buses to perform in more than 60 different cities across the country.

Although such an extensive (and not to mention physically demanding) tour may seem daunting to the average person, Bersten says he absolutely loves it.

"Honestly the tour is my most favorite part of the year," Bersten said. "You know, I love being on the TV show, but when we go out there on tour and every night in a new city we get to meet these amazing fans and we just go on stage and dance and have fun, it is honestly like a celebration."

Dancing With the Stars airs Monday nights at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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Laura Hanrahan Laura is a NYC-based freelance writer.

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