WOW!!!! What a Night! Great Semi-Finals Dancing!

LIVE!!! It’s the Semi Finals of Dancing With the Stars!!!

The slate is wiped clean tonight - although I don’t know what that means. They don’t carry over points from week to week, so....I’m confused. What else is new?

Loving Brooke’s dress tonight! Very elegant.

We get a solo from the stars tonight in one of their two dances. Tom says that every one of the remaining couples has been first in viewer votes, and they’re “wiping the slate clean.” I still don’t know what that means!!!

Erin & Maks begin the evening with a Viennese Waltz. Erin is very focused and Maks is going to push her very hard. There’s no arguing this week! Seeing how focused Maks is makes Erin want to make the Finals even more. Love the color of her dress on her! The dance is very pretty, but Erin looks as if she’s bouncing a bit. Aww, sweet ending with her head on Maks’ shoulder. Len says the fight for the Finals starts now - and Erin made a giant step through the door. Bruno called it a “symphony in blue.” Her fluidity of lines and continuity of movement were excellent. (So much for my thoughts). Carrie Ann adores watching Erin and has watched her grow every week. Erin tells Brooke her legs were shaking. Their scores: 9-9-9=27. Bruno holds up a 10 paddle and says “9.” Tom says Bruno had a premature paddle and really meant 9.

Before the commercial, we see child pictures of our stars. Evan started skating because his grandmother wanted to be in the Ice Capades. Nicole grew up in a house with 14 people. Chad’s neighborhood was full of crime and drugs. Erin tells us what it was like to see the peephole videos on the internet.

Nicole & Derek are up next and will dance an Argentine Tango. Nicole went to rehearsal and sees Derek with a wrap on his neck. We find out that it’s been bothering him for a couple of weeks, and the pain sends zings down his back. This preview is all about Derek and how much he’s hurting, but that he’ll dance. “I have to dance.” Shoot the boy up with cortisone, he’ll be fine. What a dance to be doing with back pain, too, with all the lifts. It’s looking really good too! Looks like another perfect score, if you ask me! Bruno calls Nicole a “divine enchantress.” “Using each move to draw us deeper into a love spell from which there is no escape.” (A bit melodramatic, but that’s Bruno!) Carrie Ann gives us her one-cry-a-season moment and says Nicole moved her to tears. She calls it profound and incredible, and tells Derek he did amazing choreography. Nicole hugs Carrie Ann. (*rolling eyes*) Len can’t jump into the love fest - he tells us he’s on medication because of Bruno and Carrie Ann. Len gives what he calls the best compliment he can ever give - “It was more delicious than my grandmother’s apple pie.” Yep, there’s a 30 on the way.... Nicole says Derek is a true champion for pushing through injury. And here are the judges’ scores: 10-10-10=30.

Here come Chad & Cheryl to dance a Waltz. He feels that he let Cheryl down, but she tells him it’s time to start fresh and forget about the past. She gives him a great pep talk. She’s being really picky about his feet and Chad is having problems getting the hang of some spins. When the dance starts, though, he seems to be doing well - he has a nice rise and fall, and his butt isn’t sticking out. He’s doing a bit too much of standing around while Cheryl dances around. Chad goes over to someone in the audience after the dance (probably his grandmother). Carrie Ann says “Chad Ochocinco just nailed the waltz.” She said it was fluid and refined. Len doesn’t know where to start. Chad is the only one with absolutely no dance experience and he’s climbed mountains. “To come out in the Semi Finals and produce a Waltz like that is fantastic.” Bruno says Chad has had the toughest criticism from the judges from day one, because they knew he had something. “Tonight you showed it to us.” After the commercial, we go right to the scores: 9-9-9=27. Brooke asks if Chad is intimidated having no dance experience, and he says it makes him want to try harder.

Evan & Anna will Fox Trot to finish off the Ballroom round. After Carrie Ann told Evan to “lose yourself in the moment” last week, he says he’s not the type to “let go.” Anna wants to figure out what makes Evan happy so he can carry that emotion throughout the dance. She asks him and he says “coffee, cars and my nephew.” Evan has to try and get that feeling out when he dances. Is this his solo spot? He begins the dance by himself with some great moves. There’s not a lot of hold in this dance, I hope Len doesn’t give him crap about it. Evan is smiling and showing personality! It’s a great dance, I don’t care what Len says. Len said the artistry and musicality, as expected, were there - but they saw the happy fun side of Evan. It was “absolutely wonderful.” Bruno said Evan looked “as high as a kite out there.” He hasn’t seen that since Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney - but Tom tells him “since you looked in a mirror.” It cracks Bruno up and he can’t continue, so Carrie Ann says she felt a connection tonight and thanks Evan for listening to their pleas. Evan tells Brooke that he kept his nephew in his mind during the dance. Their scores: 10-9-10=29.

The Latin round is next, and those solo dances are part of it. We see Erin’s sister talking about Erin growing up taller than most of the boys and trying to hunch over to be the same height as all the other kids. They took ballet, tap and jazz dancing as kids. Erin’s dad is a broadcaster and she always wanted to be a sportscaster, and was thrilled when ESPN hired her at 24. When the videos of her hit the internet, she was upset but determined not to be a victim and did Dancing With the Stars to show women they could keep going. Erin & Maks will dance a Paso Doble and I love her outfit again! During Erin’s solo, someone screwed up big time and we saw a shot of backstage. When Maks comes back out he attaches a gold skirt. It’s a Paso Doble, but they’re both smiling through it. Love the dance! Maks loses his balance and topples a little at the end (see, even the pros mess up now and then!) Bruno says Erin is a hot chick with an attitude. He says tonight is a feast with the standard of dancing. All of a sudden the sound goes out - but from everyone’s reactions, it’s the delay, they bleeped Bruno out. The camera wasn’t on Bruno when he said it, so I couldn’t read his lips - but Maks provoked it! Carrie Ann agrees, saying it was amazing, and compliments Maks’ choreography. Len says he doesn’t know what to make of it, but he likes traditional dancing and that wasn’t a traditional Paso Doble. Erin looks worried and Carrie Ann is growling. Erin says that the solo didn’t scare her much because Maks has been doing that to her all season long. Their scores: 10-9-10=29. As Brooke tells people to vote, Maks takes off his vest and poses shirtless - that will get some votes!

Nicole & Derek are going to dance a Cha Cha. She’s dressed like Prince - if they dance a Prince song, I probably won’t know if it is! (It is.) She was born in Honolulu Hawaii. Nicole’s mom was a teenager when Nicole was born, and they lived with her parents and many other relatives. She moved to Kentucky when she was six when her mother married. She felt different from all the other kids and decided to start singing, and even in high school she would beat herself up if she did something wrong. Her solo is right at the start, and she’s “messing about” with a chair - and when Derek gets there, it’s not a lot of Cha Cha. Very entertaining dance, but not Cha Cha enough. What will Len say? We’ll see.......Carrie Ann says she dances as if the dancing cells are in her body and she “poops” them out. (She may have said “poofs” because there wasn’t a huge reaction, but “poops” is funnier!) Len says the solo showed off her dance talent but didn’t show off a Cha Cha - but she has to be in the Finals next week. Bruno calls her the “sexilicious purple queen of the Cha Cha Cha!” It’s Derek’s birthday today - he’s finally 19! (Hah!) Their scores: 10-9-10-29.

Tom quips that if you’re having a birthday and need a buzzkill, Len is available.

Chad & Cheryl are up next. He grew up in Miami, with alcohol, guns and drugs all around him. His teachers told him he wouldn’t amount to anything, but that just made him more determined. Chad’s grandmother tells us that his mother “wasn’t all together” so she just went away. Chad’s dad was in prison, so his grandmother raised him. He wasn’t the smartest kid and sports were his way out. He’s very determined, and the teaching of his grandmother put him in the right frame of mind to get through the dancing competition. It’s a Samba, and I like it. Chad’s got the hips going - although it is a little understated. Cheryl rips off his shirt for his solo (Len may not like that one.) Tom says apart from the few women who passed out and didn’t see the end of the dance, everyone liked it. Len can’t figure out what it is about the Samba that all the men have to take their shirts off. He says that Chad’s torso is like his, although Len has a few more tattoos, and adds that for a tough dance, Chad did a great job. Bruno is torn between “admiration and bitter envy - I will never take my clothes off again.” He says Chad got the Samba right, with his cheeky grin and the sparkle in his eyes. Carrie Ann says his technique hasn’t matured like everyone else since he started in a different place, but his charisma lit up the room. “Your solo had everybody working it.” Chad tells Brooke that if he makes the Finals, he may have to take his pants off. Their scores: 8-8-9=25.

Next week’s Finale will bring the eliminated stars back - Jake will Waltz with Vienna, and “Kate Gosselin will fly.” (Hopefully it’ll be out the door - before she dances, so we don’t have to watch her.) The finalists will do four dances next week, too!

Evan & Anna are going to dance a Paso Doble. First, we see that Evan grew up in Illinois. His mom says Evan was an unusual child, very driven. He had a growth spurt at 14 and wanted to quit, but was talked out of it. Scott Hamilton says most skaters are shy because they practice by themselves. He’s willing to learn and everything he sets out to accomplish, he does. Well, we’ll see if Anna can get his emotions out with a Paso - and all I can say is wow! The dance is intense, his solo is killer - and he mauls Anna at the end and looks like he kisses her to death! I LOVE IT! This better be a perfect score! He gets a standing ovation. Bruno says it’s the best innovation in a Paso Doble this season - strong yet artistic. Bruno yells “a Paso Doble with passion and you’ve got balls!” Carrie Ann is cracking up with that weird laugh of hers, but says “yes he does!” Carrie Ann says usually his movements are (demonstrating flowy) but tonight they were (throwing her head around and pumping her fists). Len calls the Paso Doble is a man’s dance, where the man has to dominate, and it’s usually hard for the male celebrities to come out and dominate the pros. But Evan did - “you came out with attack, aggression - fantastic!” Evan stops to hug Kate on the way to the Celebraquarium, and gets a hug from Donny Osmond too. Evan tells Brooke he wanted to get it right for Anna because “she’s shown me strength, and love, and all that hard work, and I wanted to grab it all and throw it back at her.” He’s so cute sometimes! Their scores: 10-10-10=30.

The standings after the judges’ scores are:

59 - Nicole & Derek
59 - Evan & Anna
56 - Erin & Maks
52 - Chad & Cheryl

So who will be in the Finals? Better yet, who do you think has a shot at the (gaudy and ugly) Mirrorball Trophy? Do you award great dancing, no matter the experience, (Nicole or Evan) or who has come the farthest (Erin or Chad)? Make sure you vote!