Dancing with the Stars: Karina Smirnoff on Her Semi-Finals Looks

Five couples remain on Dancing With the Stars-and two of those will be eliminated tonight! With the semi-finals pressure on, we caught up with Karina Smirnoff to get the inside scoop on how she made her double dose of costumes stand out on the dance floor with partner Apolo Anton Ohno. "I wanted to make the songs match the outfits and the themes," she told InStyle.com of her inspiration. Their first number, a Big Top Jazz routine to "What You Waiting For?" by Gwen Stefani, featured red, white, and black circus-inspired outfits topped off with thematic face paint. "I really wanted to take in the character in my outfit in this dance," Smirnoff said. "It was called Big Top Jazz for a reason!" For their second dance, a rumba to "Man in the Mirror," she wanted her look to have a "sensual, sexy, with a touch of innocence" feel. "I really didn't want the dress to stand out for this dance," Smirnoff said of her all-white look, which featured accents of embroidery, beats, and cut-out sections. "The song, dance, and dedication of it was the most important. I hope audiences saw and felt that." We certainly did! Tune in tonight on ABC at 8/7c to see if Apolo and Karina make it to the finals.

Plus, read more Dancing With the Stars news.

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- Sharon Clott