At the risk of sounding as loopy as Mary Murphy, someone needs to turn up the air conditioning on that “Dance” stage because last night’s show was hot, hot, HOT!!!

Will and Twitch, shirtless! (Man, who knew these two were so ripped?!?)

Kherington stomping around in thigh-high boots!

Heck, Twitchington rolling around on a bed covered in rose petals!

Chelsie and Mark blowing kisses!

Man, the seven remaining couples brought it big time last night, proving that it’s getting harder and harder to say which ones are going all the way to the finals.

As for who’ll be in danger of going home tonight? It shows how great these dancers  are when I can only say one couple is a sure bet for solos: Kourtni and Matt.

As for the other two possibilities, I’d guess Comfort, Thayne, Courtney and Gev will be dancing for their lives. Anything goes at this point, though, and things will start getting really interesting when the show starts to break up partners—and dancers start to perform more on their own.

That said, let’s do the usual Wednesday night breakdown, shall we?

JESSICA and WILL

Their first dance was the jive, and this bouncy little number didn’t bounce so well off the judges. They even semi-criticized Will, who can usually do no wrong. But wow, did these two make a major comeback with their second routine, choreographed by Mandy Moore.

Props to the props, Mandy, because that trick with the shirt totally worked! It was clever, smooth, sexy and difficult—having Will loop that shirt around Jessica’s arm and pulling her across the floor with it was tremendous. Mary Murphy summed it all up when she put these two on the—you guessed it—Hot Tamale Train.

The only downer came from Napolean (a guest judge with wife/partner Tabitha) when he noted that Jessica is still bringing Will down. It’s true, but even I would have cut the girl a break after that fantastic effort.

COMFORT and THAYNE

These two brought their A-game to the show last night with a Broadway number and a smooth waltz. Were they better than last week? Abso-freakin-lutely. Did they show that they can adapt to different genres? You betcha. Were their performances good enough to push them out of the danger zone? Doubt it.

Napolean and Tabitha were spot on when they pegged Comfort and Thayne as a good match-up. Still, their Broadway number didn’t measure up: Nigel was unhappy that their classic take on West Side Story didn’t show as much passion and aggression as the original. He even went so far as to say they’d be booed off Broadway.

Their waltz was better, as proved by expert Mary Murphy’s screech of approval. The opening lift was amazing, and even though Comfort was way outside her element, she looked completely comfortable. (No pun intended! Well, maybe a small one.)

But again, Napolean nailed the problem with Thayne: Sometimes he looks fake. Based on his past performances, odds are pretty good he’ll be the guy going home tonight.

 KOURTNI and MATT

I’m not a big fan of the kind of “slow jam” hip-hop routine that Kourtni and Matt was handed for their first number, but as Mary Murphy pointed out, slow and smooth doesn’t mean you should put the audience to sleep. Not only was the overall performance a snore, their moves weren’t even in sync.

And when given the opportunity to really set the stage on fire with a mambo, they only managed to get the temperature up to lukewarm. They needed to bring the sexy, and they didn’t. Which was even more apparent when compared to couples like Will and Jessica and Twitchington.

Kournti and Matt are prepping their solos as we speak, but hey, they’re used to it by now, right?

CHELSIE and MARK

These two were cute as bugs in a rug during their “Kiss Kiss” routine, showing that they are one of the best pairings in the competition right now. Nigel called them “magic” together. Mary said some gibberish about Chelsie Hightower, towering towering, which made no sense at all except to convey that she LOVED THEM!!!

And you’ve gotta give a hand to a couple who can make the foxtrot—usually a kiss of death in this contest—entertaining. Chelsie even danced with a feather in her mouth, which I wouldn’t have noticed if Tabitha hadn’t mentioned it. Now that’s a pro.

KHERINGTON and TWITCH

You all know I love me some Twitch, but I’m thinking Kherington may have surpassed her partner this week. She showed she’s got a lot more inside her than just being a future spokesmodel for Crest toothpaste. She was a fierce matador in the paso doble, giving some serious attitude. Way to work those boots, honey!

And in that second Mia Michaels routine? Sweet little Kherington turned into a heartbreaker! (And hey, seeing Twitch without a shirt wasn’t too bad, either.)

Katee and Joshua fans may argue with me, but to me, that number was the best of the night. As Tabitha said, “Awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome.”

KATEE and JOSHUA

But … the trophy for Best Performance last night could have easily gone to Katee and Joshua with their first contemporary number (even if I personally liked Twitchington’s bedroom romp a tiny bit more). Look, when you get a Mia Michaels piece, you’ve already got an edge, but they truly did own the stage with this one. T&N got it right: You have to be amazing dancers to hold an audience’s attention when you’re barely moving.

As for their second West Coast swing routine—choreographed by Mr. Benji Schwimmer, assisted by Lacey!—they performed a great feat by dragging my attention away from those horrible Pepto Bismol costumes. That last move where Katee hip-checked Joshua across the floor was fantastic. To quote Nigel: “Well done.”

COURTNEY and GEV

I’ve come to the conclusion that “Dance” needs to send Olisa and Cecily back to New York, because I hate every routine they choreograph.  The judges weren’t feeling this hip-hop number, yet I don’t think it wasn’t completely the dancers’ fault.

And I wouldn’t have been quite so hard on Courtney: Just because she wasn’t “ghetto” doesn’t mean she didn’t do a playful, hard-hitting job. I’m actually surprised they didn’t slam Gev harder—for a hip-hopper, he was sleepwalking through that one.

Their Broadway number was a lot better, though. They played the role of wide-eyed tourists in New York well, without going overboard, and they really zoomed across that stage. That number was exhausting: I’ll bet that last  flop onto the floor wasn’t too far away from how these two really felt.

Yet, I’m thinking Courtney and Gev will be in the Bottom 3 couples tonight, if only because three have to be.  The competition is so stiff now, those in danger won’t be the ones who danced badly anymore. They’ll be the ones who didn’t bring something special enough to their performances.

So get set for another elimination round tonight! And hopefully, the lovely Cat Deeley won’t be dressed as Betty Boop tonight…

(Photos courtesy of FOX)