Ilona Maher has taken her lifting game to new heights Dancing with the stars.

Maher, 28, opened up exclusively We weekly about lifting pro Alan Bersten – and other castmates included Jenna Johnson And Chandler Kinney – while wearing heels after her performances DWTSDisney Night on Tuesday, October 22.

“I’m starting to feel a lot more comfortable with the lifts now,” Maher explained, noting that this was the first time she ditched her flats. “(In)itially they said, ‘She’s doing lifts again. We shouldn’t do the heels, but they couldn’t make a shoe without (a heel).”

Before her group dance with Kinney, 24, Jen Tran, Joey Grazedei and pros Bersten, 30, Johnson, 30, and Brandon ArmstrongMaher matched the other women in knee-high leather boots, complete with a short heel.

“It worked. And honestly, it even lifted Jenna higher,” Maher shared Us.

Bersten then added that Maher “could have even worn” heels during their salsa to “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” Dirty dancing Through Bill Medley And Jennifer Warnes during the show’s Oscar Night on September 24, although she decided to play it safe in sneakers for her very first lift.

“I think we could have done that in heels,” the Olympian agreed.

Bersten also told it Us that although judging Derek Hough praised Maher’s lift with Johnson as “the best of the season”, he thought otherwise. Instead, Bersten believed her shoulder lift from their jazz routine to Encanto’s “Surface Pressure” was more impressive.

“That’s iconic. Come on!” Bersten exclaimed. “But no disrespect.”

Maher told me earlier Us that she ditched her ballroom heels for kicks as she lifted Bersten for safety reasons on Oscars Night.

“I thought I just wanted to wear flats for my ankles,” Maher explained, while Bersten added, “And for the stability of them.”