Dancing With The Stars season 32 is almost at a close, with the semi-finals showing on Tuesday night.

This episode was the first of its kind this season, with each star performing two full length dances, one ballroom style and one Latin style.

Xochitl aced the night, scoring two perfect scores on both of her dances. She danced a Samba and a Waltz, both with amazing technique, poise and choreography from Val. Xochitl nailed the Samba, not just performing well but nailing the content filled choreography. Her waltz was truly her showstopping piece. It was elegant and emotional, bringing the judges to tears and causing Derek to say that Len Goodman, the former head judge, would’ve loved it. Beyond their spectacular dancing, Val and Xochitl’s partnership is arguably the best of the season, with an amazing relationship that shows through in their dancing.

Charity and Artem were next up on the leaderboard, one point away from perfection. She danced a Rumba and a Quickstep. The focus of the dance was bringing the emotion to the floor, which the judges disagreed on her achieving. It was definitely a step up for Charity, but compared to the level of emotion achieved by others, her performance was not showstopping. In her quickstep, Charity killed it; she had a challenging routine, kept the energy up, and fully deserved the 30 she received.

Ariana and Pasha came in on the middle of the leaderboard, two points away from a perfect score. Ariana has been dealing with a back injury, but despite that, her dances were some of the best of the night. She started with a jive, with great technique and solid performance. Something about the routine held it back from being amazing, but it was still very very good. Her foxtrot was one of the best dances of the night. She was smooth and sophisticated, with a sense of elegance most other dances have lacked.

Fourth on the leaderboard were Jason and Daniella, with a 57 out of 60. The pair started with a Viennese Waltz to Jason’s own song, bringing the whole thing full circle. Despite struggling with the spins required of the dance, he was very refined and clean. However, it came across as almost stiff, with the judges agreeing and telling Jason to bring more emotion to the stage. His second dance was the Paso Doble, highly intense and very strong. This style suited Jason well, and as always, Daniella’s choreography was stellar.

Last on the leaderboard, six points behind Jason and Daniella, were Alyson and Sasha. The pair have been the underdogs the whole season, and while they performed very well, they just aren’t at the same level as the other, displayed by their score. However, they embody the message of the show in a way the others don’t. All the other semi-finalists have been pretty good the whole time, while Alyson has vastly improved and gotten much, much better. They started with a Jive that was upbeat but had a few errors, although Sasha did step up the intensity. Her second dance was a Waltz, which was beautiful and skillful, but again, not quite as good as the others. 

At the time of elimination, many fans were on the edge of their seats especially when Alyson, who many viewers believed would go home, was announced as the first finalist. Xochitl and Ariana were the last two remaining who were not saved, shocking many viewers as they have consistently been the best dancers throughout the season. Rather than send anyone home, they announced that both were safe, meaning for the first time there are 5 couples in the finale. 

Many fans have theories as to why this happened, the prevailing one being that Xochitl was supposed to go home based on votes, but the producers knew that many fans would be upset if she were sent home after receiving the only perfect score. Either way, the finale will be interesting to watch, and is supposedly three hours!