Bindi Irwin Dazzles with 'Dangerous' Performance as Dancing with the Stars Zooms Into the Semifinals

Dancing with the Stars' four semi-finalists had to think outside the box on Monday's episode, which saw the stars performing three dances to fill up the two-hour episode in the wake of Tamar Braxton's exit over health issues.


Bindi Irwin took the think outside the box mandate literally with a box-centered performance her pro Derek Hough admitted was "dangerous" for the 17-year-old star.

"It was incredible to get to tell the story that Derek created for us this week," Irwin told PEOPLE after the show. "It's not just dance when we go out there, it's a complete story with characters and struggles.

The results earned her raves from the judges, but was it enough to secure a top spot on the leader board?

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Because of Braxton's exit, none of the couples were sent home this week, even though co-host Tom Bergeron kept it suspenseful by not revealing that would be the case until the final seconds of the show.

Here's where the stars stand going into next week's finals:

Irwin and Hough: 60
Carlos PenaVega and Witney Carson: 60
Alek Skarlatos and Lindsay Arnold: 57
Nick Carter and Sharna Burgess: 54

Next week, the stars compete in a two-episode finale on Monday and Tuesday. Read on for highlights from the semi-finals.

Carlos (Almost) Kills It with the Charleston
Penavega, Witney Carson and Karina Smirnoff earned rave reviews for their Charleston. The only hold out was Carrie Ann Inaba, who gave the trio a 9 rather than a 10. For more from Penavega, check out his exclusive PEOPLE blog, where he discusses the elimination of his wife Alexa last week.

"I feel like I had a great night, but I'm the only person left in the competition who hasn't gotten a perfect score," he told PEOPLE. "But I promise you, I'll have one before my time on the show is over." people