"DWTS" Week 9 Recap: The Semi-Finals

November 12, 2018

OK, there was NOTHING “semi-” about last night’s semi-finals of “Dancing with the Stars.” With a completely shocking elimination, several perfect scores among the remaining contestants, and a salsa that was just…NO, there was hardly a moment in last night’s episode that didn’t take our breath away. So let’s get right into the extreme drama, shall we!

Alexis Ren & Alan Bersten’s Jive

We admit it: We ship everything about #TeamRenTen. Not only has Ren’s dancing improved by leaps and bounds (pun definitely intended) over the course of the season thanks to Bersten’s support, but it’s now official—these two are a couple! And their adorably ’80s aerobics-style number lived up to the perfection of that hashtaggable celeb-couple moniker. “YES!” indeed.


Alexis & Alan’s Jive – Dancing with the Stars
www.youtube.com

Juan Pablo di Pace & Sheryl Burke’s Tango

Sometimes, it can seem like the male celebs lean too heavily on their assigned pro dancers, happy to let their female partners take the lead and perform all the flashy choreo. Not so with Juan Pablo di Pace, who did more than his fair share of this tango’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it fancy footwork. We might need to start referring to him as Juan Perfect di Profesh, tbh.


Juan Pablo & Cheryl’s Tango – Dancing with the Stars
www.youtube.com

Evanna Lynch & Keo Motsepe’s Contemporary

We’re 99% convinced that Evanna Lynch was a silent-film star in another life. Those huge eyes are so expressive that we can’t help but be invested in the story her dancing tells. Even though this routine exposed some less-than-perfect technical details, we almost…don’t care? 10 points to Ravenclaw for stage presence—not to mention a great onstage connection with Motsepe!


Evanna & Keo’s Contemporary – Dancing with the Stars
www.youtube.com

Elimination

After some truly lackluster showings, it was hardly a surprise that Grocery Store Joe (né Joe Amabile) would finally get the boot. But the major shocker of last night was that Juan Pablo di Pace also had to say goodbye! With several perfect scores under his belt and consistently memorable performances, this was a real bummer of a surprise. Hopefully “Fuller House” will have di Pace’s character do some ballroom next season to make up for this great tragedy.