Dancing with the Stars semi-finals power rankings: Who’s in the best position to win?

4. Bobby Bones and Sharna Burgess (45; 21/24)

After seeing their first dance of the night, all I had to say was “Well, that was … something.” As he said into the mike, this was the first time he’d ever nailed every step, which seems a bit late in the game. It’s really hard to judge this beyond just kind of sitting there and … absorbing it.

Len and Bruno both noted that it didn’t seem much like a salsa, with which this writer agrees heavily, and all three judges mostly commented not on his actual dancing skills (though Carrie Ann did) so much as the performative aspect. At this late in the game, that’s damning with faint praise.

Len was also their mentor for their second-round jive, and Bobby and Sharna even danced on his face, projected on the floor. It still had all the energy we’ve come to expect from him, but Len certainly brought them some “finesse,” as he promised. Was it a perfect jive? Absolutely not, but bless him, he got his goal of three eights.

After this week’s episode, where they survived another double elimination, it’s not statistically impossible for Bobby and Sharna to win. However, scores still matter (apparently), and it’s there that they might find their downfall.

3. Alexis Ren and Alan Bersten (58; 28/30)

You don’t tend to think of the waltz as a necessarily sexy dance, but for their first round, Alexis and Alan turned out an attractive, almost sensuous waltz. There wasn’t really time to look away from it. Sure, Alan’s nice to look at, but watching this dance, all you could focus on was Alexis, and that’s a good sign.

“You’ve got a fantastic frame,” Len said, but got cranky about how little content there was in there that related to the waltz. Meanwhile, Carrie Ann knocked off a point, as is her wont, for putting a lift in there. (Yes, Alexis’ feet were off the floor.) Bruno, however, had nothing but praise and a perfect score in the first round.

Speaking of Bruno, he mentored them in their jive for the second round. asking for them to really “hit it” this time around. Sure, they looked like they were in Jazzercise, but it was plenty of fun and “clearly brilliant,” per Bruno himself. It was much more crisp, and it really hit the spirit of the song.

Alexis and Alan seem like the safer second choice if you’re trying to pick the most obvious winners, but there’s still something missing every so often with her performances; she doesn’t seem to quite nail the same enthralling or charismatic notes that the other three finalists do.

2. Evanna Lynch and Keo Motsepe (58; 30/28)

There were two contemporaries in the first round, and they were a study in contrasts. Where Joe and Jenna’s didn’t really have much in the way of motion, Evanna and Keo used every inch of the dance floor, and there was a surprising contrast between stillness and movement. The song wasn’t slow; it demanded the best of someone, and she gave her best for Simon Fitzmaurice, an Irish director and close friend of hers who passed away last year. “The storytelling was flawless; your dancing was brilliant,” Bruno said.

Sure, Milo and Witney and Juan Pablo and Cheryl have pretty much owned the season from the first week — and Juan Pablo’s Argentine tango alone could win him the trophy next week — but I’ve said it before and will say it again: if there’s a time to break out, it’s now, and Evanna and Keo are doing that.

Len came in to work with them on the foxtrot, asking for better footwork and frame in particular. She brought that and more, and it seemed like the performance flew by. There should have been more of it. Bruno praised Len’s work and their dance; Carrie Ann said that the dance moved her to tears.

The thing with this couple is that they have a decent chance to win — maybe not the top chances, but though I just called Alexis and Alan a “solid second choice,” the thing is that Evanna and Keo, at this point in time, seem like the couple more able to hit different notes and nuances in performances.

1. Milo Manheim and Witney Carson (55; 27/28)

While Juan Pablo and Cheryl had a traditional Argentine tango, Milo and Witney had a much more contemporary song, but none of that sharpness was lost, nor that tension between the two dancers. (Both men also dedicated the dances to their moms.)

Carrie Ann even noted the differences in the dance choices herself. The judges all had praise for him, no doubt about it, with Bruno effusive about the lifts in particular, but there was something missing — a next level, if you will — from this performance. It reflected in the scores on this tango.

Make no mistake: Milo and Witney can absolutely win this competition. He’s not slumping necessarily, but on a night where perfect scores made appearances early and often, it’s hard not to see where a 27 might come back to bite him.

Working with them on the cha cha, Carrie Ann provided lots of advice on body control and arms in particular. And whoo, did he look smooth — and those arms look good — in the cha cha. Carrie Ann was tough, though, saying that it seemed “just a little wild” yet. Len said it more nicely by dubbing it “youthful exuberance,” but said he wanted this couple in the finals, which is most important. Bruno was the most unreserved in his praise.

Their scores from this week might be a little lower than Evanna and Keo’s or Alexis and Alan’s, but he’s still the odds-on favorite to win, especially with Juan Pablo and Cheryl out.

(Yes, we’re still mad.)

The Dancing with the Stars season 27 finale airs next week Monday.