'Dancing With the Stars' Semi-Finals Dance Recap: Best Lifts, Kicks, Tricks and Flips!

Desiree Murphy
Updated

It was a shocking night on Dancing With the Stars!

After receiving two perfect scores from the judges, Simone Biles and her pro partner, Sasha Farber, were eliminated from the competition, advancing Rashad Jennings, Normani Kordei and David Ross to next week's finals.

From the intense Judges' Challenges to the fierce footwork in their regular partner dances, ET's breaking down all the best choreography moments the contestants executed Monday night in the ballroom.

WATCH: 'Dancing With the Stars' Season 24 Semi-Finals Delivers Most Shocking Elimination Yet!

JUDGES' CHALLENGE

Normani Kordei & Val Chmerkovskiy -- Viennese Waltz, "Desperado" by Rihanna

Challenge: Len Goodman said he wanted to feel as if he were being transported back to Vienna. He was specifically looking for frame and accuracy in the feet.
Dance highlight: Week after week we've raved over Val's creative choreography, and Monday was no exception. He's a master at creating moves that are not only fun, but look great on his partner. The Fifth Harmony star's strongest moments occurred at 0:13, a high kick over Val's head, 0:42, a standing extended leg spin, and 0:56, a series of strong chaine turns.
Judges' score: 36/40. "You did make me proud. There was lovely, sweeping movement ... You did exactly what I asked for, so, well done." - Len
ET's score: 39/40. Normani admitted this was her most challenging dance, and despite the slightly noticeable stumble out of her standing leg spin at 0:46, we thought she deserved a much higher score. Yet again, the dance was nearly flawless.
Celebrity/fan reaction:

David Ross & Lindsay Arnold -- Foxtrot, "You Make Me Feel So Young" by Michael Bublé

Challenge: In an attempt to get David to tuck in his "catcher booty" and stop sticking it out, Julianne Hough brought lemons to rehearsal to show him how it's done (yes, she made the former MLB pro use his butt to squeeze lemons -- hilarious, but it worked!). In addition to working on his backside, she also said she wanted him to "go to the next level as a dancer."
Dance highlight: The routine was entertaining from beginning to an end, thanks to David hamming it up and not being afraid to showcase his personality in the ballroom. We loved when #TeamLadyAndTheGramp busted out a series of in sync kicks at 0:41, followed by quick turns at 1:25 to end the dance strongly.
Judges' score: 34/40. "You squeezed your lemons! Yay! I'm so proud of you guys. You really are the epitome of what this show's all about." - Julianne
ET's score: 36/40. He tucked in his booty, was lighter on his feet, less flat, cheery and having fun! David may not be the strongest dancer in the competition, but there's no doubt he is a joy to watch. How can you not love that smile.
Celebrity/fan reaction:

Simone Biles & Sasha Farber -- Jive, "Faith" by Stevie Wonder featuring Ariana Grande

Challenge: Carrie Ann Inaba explained to Simone that she really wanted her to find "the part of Simone that's not perfect" -- to go out there, let loose, have fun and just be her true self. Dance highlight: Right off the bat, the Olympic gold medalist was serving us with major sass and the perfect amount of attitude! Biles' best moments were her solo feature at the very beginning of the routine and Sasha flipping over her at the 0:37 mark, which was followed by a seriously epic hair swing.
Judges' score: 40/40. "It warms my heart to see you tapping into all that multi-dimension, that emotion ... It looked different and it looked AMAZING!" - Carrie Ann
ET's score: 40/40. YES, Simone! This is exactly what the judges and viewers have been waiting to see all season long. We were so happy to see her finally break out of her shell, but unfortunately, it came too late in the competition.
Celebrity/fan reaction:

Rashad Jennings & Emma Slater -- Rumba, "Say You Won't Let Go" by James Arthur

Challenge: Bruno Tonioli said the NFL pro is sometimes "rough around the edges," so this week, he wanted to fix that by challenging Rashad to clean up his hands and feet. Dance highlight: The abs were out on full display once again, and we're not mad! But honestly, we were paying more attention to Rashad's upper body as a whole -- we have to point out just how gracefully he used his arms throughout the entire piece, taking the full counts of the music to extend them like a true dancer. Our favorite moments from #TeamShadSquad were their sweet embrace at 0:33, an elegant dip at 0:44, Rashad's slow arm extension at 1:04 and a slide into a spin at 1:22.
Judges' score: 38/40. "Exceeding all expectations! You never cease to surprise me." - Bruno
ET's score: 40/40. Rashad handled the challenge given to him like a true pro, and the rumba is no easy feat for a male dancer. It was graceful, but also sexy.
Celebrity/fan reaction:

PARTNER DANCES

Normani & Val -- Jazz, "What a Wonderful World" by Ray Chew Live

Dance highlight: Hello, beautiful arch on the staircase! As soon as Normani kicked off the dance with that strong trick, we knew we were in for something special. Her other best moments included a dance break solo at 4:29, followed by a front flip into a lift onto Val's shoulders at 4:51 and a backflip with help from troupe dancers at 5:12.
Judges' score: 40/40. "[That was] bucketloads of fun and I'm telling you, I don't do this often because I'm old but… [standing and clapping]." - Len
ET's score: 40/40. Bucketloads of fun, indeed! Normani is clearly in it to win it, and now with Simone gone, it's going to be extremely hard to knock her off the top of the leaderboard. Our advice to her is to just keep doing what she's doing and not let the nerves of the finals get to her. She's gotten this far, and we have no doubt Val has what it takes to help her secure a mirror ball!

David & Lindsay -- Tango, "Castle on the Hill" by Ed Sheeran

Dance highlight: The two began the dance strong, with David assisting Lindsay into a beautiful dip at 3:26 and a reach on releve at 3:36. And we saw even more kicks from the athlete in this routine, beginning at the 4:23 mark.
Judges' score: 36/40. "You are so meant to be here. You are such a great dancer. I'm so proud of you ... You are the show, this is what it's about!" - Julianne
ET's score: 38/40. This was by far the best we've ever seen David in the ballroom! For that, we're giving him a few additional, well-deserved points.

Simone & Sasha -- Rumba, "Skyscraper" by Demi Lovato

Dance highlight: For this dance, we were majorly impressed by Simone's fluidity in her movements. In past weeks, we noticed she was a bit too sharp with some of her steps (that's from being trained as a gymnast, of course!), but she nailed the balance of when to be sharp, and when to be soft. Our favorite moments were her sky-high kick at 3:57, an arched-back dip combo at 4:06 and a gorgeous split spin starting at 4:16.
Judges' score: 40/40. "Beautiful, real, gorgeous, just like you are." - Bruno
ET's score: 40/40. You could feel Simone's passion and tell that she was really connecting with this song and story, leaving the majority of the audience in tears. Sasha's choreography was stunning, and Simone executed it impeccably.

Rashad & Emma -- Quickstep, "Yes I Can" by Superhumans

Dance highlight: From his entertaining solo at the beginning of the number, to a strong spin into a partner catch to conclude the dance, this was one of the most upbeat routines of the night and it's no question that Rashad's personality was shining extra bright in the ballroom. His smile was genuine, and you could tell just how happy he was to be performing on that dance floor with Emma.
Judges' score: 39/40. "Yes you can, and yes you did! It was a match made in heaven." - Carrie Ann
ET's score: 40/40. We were a bit disappointed Rashad didn't receive a perfect score for this one -- we truly could not pick out anything wrong with this piece! We loved this dance, he performed it perfectly and the backstory made it all that that better. As Len would say, "Well done."

WATCH: Simone Biles and Sasha Farber React to Shocking 'DWTS' Elimination: 'This Isn't My Element'

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