DWTS S024, Semifinals Smoking, Season’s 1st Perfect Score for Sasha and Simone

Ladies and gentlemen: Our semifinalists for Dancing with the Stars Season 24! David Ross and Lindsay Arnold, Rashad Jennings and Emma Slater, Sasha Farber and Simone Biles and Normani Cordei and Val Chemerkovskiy. Amazing! What a great season it's been, to have these amazing last four finalists.

This week, we have a new variation of dance: the Judges' Challenge. We begin with Head Judge Len, challenging Normani and Val to do 12 bars of Viennese waltz, in hold, with the proper footwork. (Isn't this a dance show? Don't they do that anyway? Who knows?) In any case, it appeared to be hard for her to manage.

Well, until we saw this.

(Notice the gorgeous in-camera tricks here, playing with the black and white, and resonance of the images.)

They started in all black and white, with the flash of her red dress being the first pop of color. It was just astounding to watch, it made it look like an old movie. It ended with it raining, and the couple walking off into the rain. Beautiful, just beautiful.

JUDGES’ SCORES: 36 (out of 40)

Julianne took charge of the first baseball player and his partner. She proceeded to tell him that he was "sticking his butt out too much," and that he needed to put lemons in his butt to show him how not to do that. Um... ok...

Well, apparently, it worked because they did quite a nice foxtrot here. Julianne calls David "a fan favorite" (which he certainly is), but she ascribes it to his hard work. Well, yes, that and the fact that he's a CUB, and the CUBS just won the World Series! (minor fact there...)

She did say, however, that they represent “the epitome of what this show is about: you have fun, you’re grateful, and you put everything out there on the dance floor.” (So true.) Len, however, had a conflict between head and heart...

JUDGES’ SCORES: 34 (out of 40)

Then we had a song by Calum Scott, with a dance interlude by Witney and Artem.

Carrie Ann came back to assist Simone and Sasha with their jive. Her issue last week (and, really, throughout) was her inability to connect to her authenticity. She has spent her whole life being the perfect gymnast that just “being herself,” or connecting to what brings her joy seems to be a foreign concept. Luckily for her, she has Sasha Farber as a partner.

If you can’t cut loose around Sasha, that’s really a problem. But he created some amazing choreography for this jive, where she could do her own thing, and just cut loose, and it was fun, and seemed to connect with Simone.

They did this move in this dance which was just amazing, especially for its unexpectedness. It's a cartwheel, but it's from Sasha, who bounds over Simone’s shoulder. It’s great. I swear, he does more cartwheels than any other pro. So much fun.

And Sasha worked so much jokey, we’re just having fun stuff into the choreography, it was a joy to watch. Len complements him on it.

Julianne brings up the idea of using a character, and Simone says that her jive character was named “Zoey.” Julianne asks her to leave Zoey (and Simone) behind, and do a different character for her next dance. (Sasha says his character’s name here is Steve.)

(Also, Sasha is the only pro who thanked the judge who worked with them.)

JUDGES’ SCORES: 40 (out of 40) (first perfect score of the season!)

Bruno got to work with Rashad on his hand movement for this rumba. And somewhat, his feet placement also.

But it was beautiful, it was graceful. Len even said they looked like Greek statues.

JUDGES’ SCORES: 38 (out of 40)

MICHE'S FAVORITE DANCES, Round 1
1. Val and Normani, Viennese waltz
2. Sasha and Simone, jive
3. Emma and Rashad, rumba
4. Lindsay and David, foxtrot

Then some guys danced with Cheryl Burke.

For this next round, each competitor gets a deep background package. Normani's talks about her family and how they had to flee New Orleans and moved to Houston after Hurricane Katrina hit the city.

Val and Normani dance a jazz, New Orleans-inspired number for Round 2 of tonight’s dances. It was infectious and fun. Val kissed Normani’s grandmother, Barbara, during the dance.

Oh man, Val Chmerkovskiy and his mind-blowing choreography! Wow, it was sure on display with this number, as Carrie Ann noted. What a joyous, fun-filled jazz dance.

Len even gave it a standing ovation. “I don’t do that very often, cause I’m old,” he said.

JUDGES’ SCORES: 40 (out of 40)  (second perfect score of the season)

David’s package, of course, is all about his baseball career. He gets a lot of good wishes from Cubs’ players and others.

Lindsay and David do a tango for dance 2, and the judges all enjoyed it and were effusive.

JUDGES’ SCORES: 36 (out of 40)

Before her package, Sasha comes out wearing a T-shirt, emblazoned with Simone's famous speech from last week: "Smiling doesn’t win you gold medals."

Sasha’s package is all about her being the best gymnast in the world (according to Mary Lou Retton). Her dance, a rumba, incorporates her balance beam. She says later it’s because during the Olympics, she showed emotion when she was on the balance beam, and only got a bronze instead of a gold.

Her showing emotion in this rumba, however, brought her (and Sasha Fierce) this:

JUDGES’ SCORES: 40 (out of 40) (third perfect score of the night, second for Sasha and Simone)

(I also love how her costume is not really bronze, yet not really gold either. So perfect.)

Rashad’s package talked about how he was overweight, going nowhere, and then, got a second chance. He talks about “the kid that’s overlooked,” to that kid, he says: “Yes, you can.”

Rashad and Emma dance a quickstep, that the judges just rave about. All the little issues they were worried about seem to have disappaited.

JUDGES’ SCORES: 39 (out of 40)

MICHE'S FAVORITE DANCES, Round 2
1. Val and Normani, jazz
2. Sasha and Simone, rumba
3. Emma and Rashad, quickstep
4. Lindsay and David, tango

And who goes home? Out of these four amazing and wonderful couples? I personally don’t want any of them to go home at this point, but this... this was the judges’ reaction...

...when it was announced that the couple who scored two perfect numbers tonight is actually going home.

It was definitely a Season of shockers, this night being no exception.

Once again, Sasha Farber makes the semifinals. And once again, he goes home too soon.

A very sad night.

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