Ilona Maher Carries the World for DWTS ‘Disney Night’
For her Dancing With the Stars “Disney Night” performance, Olympic medalist Ilona Maher portrayed Luisa Madrigal in a dance to “Surface Pressure” from Encanto. Her stunning skills shocked the judges and sparked a conversation on body positivity and supporting strong women.
In the routine, based on a scene from the film, Maher begins by holding a globe over her head, then throws it off the set and dances with a stage full of donkeys. The athlete shared her love for Disney in an Instagram post before the episode, captioning childhood Disney World pictures, “In honor of Disney Night, here are some pics of me having the time of my life at Disney World. I’m doing this dance for this little girl who would have absolutely loved Luisa.”
Spot the difference pic.twitter.com/w6FqXX0Qnn
— Ilona Maher (@ilona_maher) October 23, 2024
Luisa’s character celebrates multifaceted strength, displayed in the lyrics of “Surface Pressure.” Not only is she very muscular and physically strong, but she takes on her family’s burdens without breaking. Despite being under a lot of pressure, which impacts her behind the scenes, Luisa stays cool and collected to help those around her better.
Maher was part of Team USA’s women’s rugby sevens team at the 2024 Paris Olympics, helping the team win a bronze medal. The team made history at the 2024 games as the first-ever U.S. women’s rugby sevens to medal in an Olympics. During her time on Dancing With the Stars this season, she has honored her rugby teammates with her “Dedication Night” routine and continued to support and represent muscular women.
watching Ilona Maher dance on national television without trying to hide an ounce of herself, her body, or her strength is healing for my inner child
— lex (@AyLex23) October 23, 2024
In a video posted earlier this year, she expressed her own struggles with commentary on her body but reinforced that, as a woman, being strong is not something to be ashamed of. “I get comments being called a man and being called masculine and asking if I’m on steroids…women can be strong, and they can have broad shoulders, and they can take up space, and they can be big,” she explained.
She has always used her platform to uplift other women, but her time on Dancing With the Stars has only amplified these sentiments. Viewers of the series find that her confidence and representation of muscular women are healing for their younger selves.
For this routine, Maher and pro partner Alan Bersten received a 25 of 30 from the judges. This dance also gave the couple their first nine this season from judge Carrie Ann Inaba. The pair was deemed safe and will continue to week seven, “Halloween Nightmares.”
Dancing With the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+. “Disney Night” is now available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu.
