S23: James Hinchcliffe: Racing Around The Dancefloor

[CED9]

16 minutes ago, sabretooth said:

I'm not sure where Sharna was heading when she had her issues with the TSA, but on Thursday, James was testing his Indycar outside St. Louis, so it's entirely possible they were missing a day or two of rehearsal anyway.

That's where she was supposed to be going. To meet him so they at least got a night rehearsal in. Didn't happen.

[RedFiat]

It is too bad he again has work that makes it difficult to rehearse,  I thought this was going to be ending after the Paso.  At least we know he's all about rehearsals and like most athletes seem to be really coach able and can really focus.  Unlike like Amber who is all about drama, but in fairness comes from an entirely different mind set.  

[Mondayeve]

I thought he was done racing also based on comments that both he and Sharna made.  They both said he was done and had cleared his schedule.  I think I misunderstood - the season was over but the racing was not.  Luckily for him he learns choreo quickly and focuses and has the energy.  It takes a lot out of a celebrity to have day job with travel included and then trying to rehearse at night and and getting back to LA for show night.  More power to them because I would be wiped out.  He pulled off that paso with very little rehearsal and I know he will do this rumba as well. 

[smiley13]

On 10/13/2016 at 3:39 PM, CED9 said:

Well, they're going to miss a day of rehearsal because Sharna got stopped and near strip searched by TSA agents for having plastic on the drawstrings of her pants. 

They're...very thorough, apparently.

They must have seen her costume and dance choices and thought she was okay with stripping, lol.

[sabretooth]

3 hours ago, Mondayeve said:

I thought he was done racing also based on comments that both he and Sharna made.  They both said he was done and had cleared his schedule.  I think I misunderstood - the season was over but the racing was not.  

Right. His racing season is over, but he may still have the occasional test and/or sponsorship commitments that he needs to fulfill. However,  a test is waaay different than a race. A test session is a day or so while a race is 3 days of on-and-off-track activity. 

[DancingD]

Never mind, found it.

Edited October 18, 2016 by DancingD

[CED9]

Can An Unknown Canadian Really Win?

http://www.tvguide.com/news/dancing-with-the-stars-james-hinchcliffe/?ftag=twtrsoshares

[Mondayeve]

So this week James has jitterbug and the team freestyle. 

So we should see him do lifts for the first time.  This should be fun.  I love his throwback song "In the mood" by Glenn Miller. 

[RedFiat]

It is really traditional night for James and Sharna, first they get jitterbug to real 40's music and then the group dance is indeed the Viennese Waltz as I thought it might be given the music.  

[sparrowtime]

James and Sharna were on Ellen today. They reprised their ChaCha and it seemed from the hip action that alter-ego Ricardo accompanied them. These two are always fun, James is a natural entertainer.

[RedFiat]

The Ellen Clip

http://www.ellentv.com/videos/0-3ubtcpbn/

 

Quote

 

Edited October 24, 2016 by RedFiat

[Mondayeve]

I hope Sharna's injury is just a scrape and not something more serious. 

I think they have 2 dances next week and it will be hard for her to rehearse if she has a bum knee. 

I need to be positive.  :).  They have come so far. 

To me that team past was a truly a team.  They all came together and worked as a unit. 

Edited October 25, 2016 by Mondayeve
Edited to add Sharna could bring in Emma to train if need be.

[ElectricCityy]

I agree with Julianne. He needs to take up acting. He is so engaging. I would love to see more of him post DWTS. 

Edited October 25, 2016 by ElectricCityy

[RedFiat]

11 hours ago, Mondayeve said:

 

I hope Sharna's injury is just a scrape and not something more serious. 

 

The woman did lindy hop lifts last night.  She carried on, she'll ice it and tend it, but she'll be back. 

[crayonskies]

Glamour interviewed Sharna last night and she said it was an MCL sprain (on the same knee that she had an ACL reconstruction in!!), and that she'll probably get Jenna to do the most of the rehearsals with James.

The article also has some info on other couples' dances next week: Marilu will do an argentine tango, and Ryan will do either a tango or AT. I'm hoping James will get to do an AT at some point, but maybe it won't be next week if Marilu and/or Ryan will do it?

[RedFiat]

The good news it's a sprain, so nothing torn -- good idea to have a surrogate dance with James at least in rehearsals.  If he has to dance with Jenna on performance night, I think it will be just as good.  As Sharna stated, James was looking after Sharna last evening, so he has an innate ability to understand nuances and go with it.     

[crayonskies]

10 minutes ago, RedFiat said:

The good news it's a sprain, so nothing torn -- good idea to have a surrogate dance with James at least in rehearsals.  If he has to dance with Jenna on performance night, I think it will be just as good.  As Sharna stated, James was looking after Sharna last evening, so he has an innate ability to understand nuances and go with it.     

I personally prefer watching Sharna rather than Jenna, but I'd be interested in seeing James dance with another pro. It's too bad they didn't do switch-up week this season.

ABC must be pleased with their decision to cast him; he makes for good "family fun" TV. Just his sound bites last night: "The physics of that is mind-boggling, I don't even know what that means!" "Jazzercise!" and the whole faux Steve Irwin narration.

[RedFiat]

Absolutely I love watching Sharna, her movement is so crisp, Jenna is good, just not in Sharna's league imho. But if someone has to step in, Jenna does have a good grounding in the style that Sharna likes to interpret. Hinch is a freaking jem.  He can perform no doubt, but yeah he would be as good and as witty as Tom hosting the whole thing if he wanted to.  

[CED9]

Video of Sharna's fall. I assume they're saving all the dramatics for the package next week.

http://people.com/tv/dancing-stars-sharna-burgess-injury/

[Mondayeve]

It is good to know it is a sprain and not a tear.  What I meant up thread was that I know dancers dance through the pain and there is no way Sharna would let James down so she danced.  The mother hen in me was thinking she might make the injury worse by dancing on it but I am sure that the docs would not let her dance if they thought it was unsafe.  She was limping though and I could sort pick up some concern when James appeared on All Access without her and he seemed a little apprehensive.  I think it tells a lot about him that he was doing his best to take care of her and willing not to go full out in his jitterbug.

I read that she may bring Jenna in to practice with James so that would give her knee a chance to heal for next week.

[CoachMom]

8 hours ago, crayonskies said:

I personally prefer watching Sharna rather than Jenna, but I'd be interested in seeing James dance with another pro. It's too bad they didn't do switch-up week this season.

ABC must be pleased with their decision to cast him; he makes for good "family fun" TV. Just his sound bites last night: "The physics of that is mind-boggling, I don't even know what that means!" "Jazzercise!" and the whole faux Steve Irwin narration.

I agree that he makes for good TV.  I've never watched DWTS before and started this season for him. 

Hinch is hilarious.  He has been doing IndyCar interviews for a few years now. As well as his Hinchtown podcasts and other stuff. If you go to YT and search James Hinchcliffe Funny Moments you'll see some of his funnier stuff.  It's a 6:39 video and around about 4:10 he starts his "Steve Irwin" impression while stalking the elusive 'pit boss.'.  The following clip where he imitates Kimi Raikkonen is spot on. 

[CED9]

2 hours ago, Mondayeve said:

It is good to know it is a sprain and not a tear.  What I meant up thread was that I know dancers dance through the pain and there is no way Sharna would let James down so she danced.  The mother hen in me was thinking she might make the injury worse by dancing on it but I am sure that the docs would not let her dance if they thought it was unsafe.  She was limping though and I could sort pick up some concern when James appeared on All Access without her and he seemed a little apprehensive.  I think it tells a lot about him that he was doing his best to take care of her and willing not to go full out in his jitterbug.

I read that she may bring Jenna in to practice with James so that would give her knee a chance to heal for next week.

I think he seemed nervous because it had just happened, so there was no time to adjust choreography, etc so Sharna was still doing all the lifts and such, and he seemed nervous about those in general. 

It seems the least comfortable they are throughout the week, the more it comes together on Monday. It's interesting.

[spanana]

Yes, Jenna is rehearsing with them.  She's already been posting pics and videos.  I really don't think Jenna will have to fill-in for the show.  I assume Sharna will just rest most of the week and then step back in for blocking, dress and the actual show.   While good for Jenna for stepping in, I really have no desire to see James dance with Jenna.   Don't get me wrong in that James will do well with anyone because he's very good at reacting to his partner and handling whatever situation he is thrown, but Jenna dances far more to the camera than to her partners. 

What is most surprising to me about James this season is I actually think he's the best actor in the bunch.  He has a way of jumping into characters in a way that I think even some of the people that are actors by trade are struggling with at times.  While Laurie is the best technical dancer, I think James is the best actor.

[Mondayeve]

Okay, the press release is out and he is dancing a VW to "You Don't Own Me" by a Grace and G-Easy.  I think the original 1963 Lesley Gore version lends itself better to a VW but I'll take it.  This should be fabulous. 

Hopefully when the GDLA interview is posted we can find out how Sharna is and if she expects to dance on Monday. 

[RedFiat]

Hinch on Access Hollywood 

https://www.accesshollywood.com/videos/james-hinchcliffe-why-race-car-drivers-make-great-dwts-dancers/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feedburner&utm_campaign=video

[Mondayeve]

How do y'all feel about him dancing with Jenna if it comes to that? 

It is very vague if Sharna will be ready to dance on Monday.  I hope so. 

But I am okay with him dancing with Jenna. I don't think the other pros were available and I would prefer her over Allison because Jenna has more ballroom experience.  It certainly won't be the chemistry or the sparkle he has with Sharna but if fans are voting for him and not the pro it won't matter. 

[sparrowtime]

4 hours ago, Mondayeve said:

How do y'all feel about him dancing with Jenna if it comes to that? 

It is very vague if Sharna will be ready to dance on Monday.  I hope so. 

But I am okay with him dancing with Jenna. I don't think the other pros were available and I would prefer her over Allison because Jenna has more ballroom experience.  It certainly won't be the chemistry or the sparkle he has with Sharna but if fans are voting for him and not the pro it won't matter. 

James and Sharna are magical together but if it becomes necessary for Jenna to substitute for Sharna I am not overly worried. Certainly the dance will have Sharna's touch all over it and she will have been with James and Jenna every step of the way. Jenna is a good ballroom dancer and James is a dream partner so all should be fine.

[RedFiat]

Bad news according to TMZ 

http://www.tmz.com/2016/10/31/dtws-sharna-burgess-injured/

[realdancemom]

24 minutes ago, RedFiat said:

Bad news according to TMZ 

http://www.tmz.com/2016/10/31/dtws-sharna-burgess-injured/

That's terrible.  James and Sharna have a good chance of winning.  If he wins, I'm assuming she will still get credit, right?

[kitcloudkicker]

1 hour ago, realdancemom said:

That's terrible.  James and Sharna have a good chance of winning.  If he wins, I'm assuming she will still get credit, right?

I imagine even if she can't dance she'll stay on as choreographer. (Like Sasha/Derek/Nastia and Alan/Mark/Paige). So the dances and concepts will be hers, with Jenna just executing the dances. So I would imagine they'd credit her as the winner if they win.

[realdancemom]

22 minutes ago, kitcloudkicker said:

I imagine even if she can't dance she'll stay on as choreographer. (Like Sasha/Derek/Nastia and Alan/Mark/Paige). So the dances and concepts will be hers, with Jenna just executing the dances. So I would imagine they'd credit her as the winner if they win.

I hope so.  I haven't watched all the seasons but in the ones that I've seen, the substitute pro is usually there for only one or two shows not the rest of the season.  That's why I wasn't sure how that would work even though I thought Sharna would still be the choreographer.

[Mondayeve]

It all depends on how bad the injury is.  Even though it is a strain of the MCL you don't want to mess with a strained MCL before it has had a chance to heal because you can end up needing surgery to repair any more damage.   It is a ligament and the ligaments are what stabilize your knee.   If Sharna damaged it by dancing too soon further resulting in surgery she would need months off for recovery and not be able to do the tour.  I guess the MRI will tell the docs what they need to know and can advise her.  I hope it is mild and she gets the all clear soon.  I am thinking it is mild because she was able to dance Monday unless she was going on pure adrenaline and dancing through a lot of pain.  We'll find out tonight I am sure??

I hope James' fans will rally and vote for him and Jenna.  I think they will.

[spanana]

James will get tons of sympathy tonight so he for sure is in no danger of going home next week.  But I really think Sharna will be back, even if she dances before she's supposed to dance.  Read her tweets.  Just TMZ and the show are going to make it all sound as dramatic as possible because that is what they do.  I really think it's a matter of when Sharna chooses to dance.  There is no way she is letting James go to the finale without her, short of being not cleared by the show.

I just wish the show had used Emma in Sharna's place.

1 hour ago, realdancemom said:

I hope so.  I haven't watched all the seasons but in the ones that I've seen, the substitute pro is usually there for only one or two shows not the rest of the season.  That's why I wasn't sure how that would work even though I thought Sharna would still be the choreographer.

If Sharna had to sit out the rest of the season and James won (which honestly I don't think will happen on either count), Sharna would for sure get the credit  She's not only the choreographer of the dances, but she's still the one in the studio teaching James and supervising the whole thing.  Sharna is still running the show.  So it would very much be Sharna's win.

[RedFiat]

I actually think Jenna was absolutely the right person to play this deranged character and James was possessed as the Joker.  It was for me by far the best performance of the night, great dancing from James and Jenna.  I know the choreo was all Sharna and it was the most interesting fun halloween themed dance.  I'll be happy to see Sharna return, but James for me is probably the first person in the history of the show who didn't let his partner's injury rattle him.  That's a true competitor. 

However with James getting immunity it cancels out the sympathy vote. With Laurie a scant 2 points behind he still needs a rally of voters.  Hope he gets that. 

Edited November 1, 2016 by RedFiat

[RedFiat]

Great article in People,  Sharna finds out Friday if she can dance next week 

http://people.com/tv/dancing-with-stars-james-hinchcliffe-on-partner-sharna-burgess-injury/

[RedFiat]

More information on the partnership 

http://www.indycar.com/News/2016/11/11-01-DWTS-week-8-results

[crayonskies]

Sharna mentioned in her Just Jared Jr. blog that they have the Paso. That would be the team dance then, since you can't repeat styles in solo dances right?

In Lindsay's latest interview with ET, she was asked about Calvin and James' friendship, and she said during Team Dance week they would text each other and meet up early to go over their steps together. Awww. They must be stoked that they're teamed up for the duet dance.

Oh, and James attended Emma and Sasha's engagement celebration dinner still in full Joker hair/makeup. LOL.

[RedFiat]

So according to ET On Line - next week are Trios dances they will bring Jenna in.  As individual dances James and Sharna have Argentine Tango!

 http://www.etonline.com/news/202313_sharna_burgess_teases_dancing_with_the_stars_return_with_james_hinchcliffe_following_injury_exclusive/

[Mondayeve]

I am so happy about an AT.  I think James has a chance to be back on top this week because I think this could be sultry, dramatic and powerful. 

Waiting impatiently to find out what the trio is dance....

[sparrowtime]

45 minutes ago, Mondayeve said:

I am so happy about an AT.  I think James has a chance to be back on top this week because I think this could be sultry, dramatic and powerful. 

Waiting impatiently to find out what the trio is dance....

Me too. I've been hoping for a James/Sharna AT. And the top is here they belong as far s I'm concerned. 

[RedFiat]

I am guessing the Trio will either be a Salsa or a Jive  as he has had none of these yet but had to prep them for the dance off.  

We have seen AT's this season with dramatic lifts (Calvin),  precision (Laurie) and over the top props (Jana).   I am still waiting to see one that embodies the passion of two souls dancing as one.  There is no team that can do that like Hinch and Sharna. 

[RedFiat]

On 10/25/2016 at 8:01 PM, CED9 said:

It seems the least comfortable they are throughout the week, the more it comes together on Monday. It's interesting.

That's a sign of a great performer.  Get all the crud away in rehearsal then bring it on showtime.  It's like the old saying 'bad rehearsal, great performance' because sometimes a great rehearsal will betray you at showtime, you think you got this, but that tiny bit of over-confidence can trip you up. 

[CED9]

Sharna is officially back on Monday.

http://dlvr.it/MdWCsb

As for their trio, my guess is Salsa or Samba. I think Jive would be their individual dance next week, only because I don't think they'll throw Contemporary at Sharna. Could be wrong.

Edited November 10, 2016 by CED9

[sparrowtime]

Last week on Strictly Come Dancing Louise and Kevin did an AT that mesmerized me. If you get a chance have a look at it. If James and Sharna can perform an AT on this level they will blow everyone away. And I think they can. 

 

Trio dance, Salsa or Samba. Hmm, I lean toward preferring Salsa for these three and I'm not even sure why. 

[Mondayeve]

Quote

  I am still waiting to see one that embodies the passion of two souls dancing as one.  There is no team that can do that like Hinch and Sharna. 

That's what Len always says about the AT and I agree.  He says it is an intimate club dance and sets a mood.  I always feel the AT is the dance where the man and the woman are alone in the room and responding to each move and gesture guiding the dance.  A dance conversation and sexual teasing.  I love it. 

For me that has been the thing that has made James the stand out of the season for me.  For a celeb to connect to his partner and capture the mood of every dance the way he has just makes me look forward to every dance.    I feel like it is more than just well executed steps and lifts, etc.  He brings the light and shade that Len talks about. 

Then to think that he sits hunched over in a tight little space of a car for his day job.  That makes it even more amazing. 

[RedFiat]

2 hours ago, sparrowtime said:

Trio dance, Salsa or Samba. Hmm, I lean toward preferring Salsa for these three and I'm not even sure why. 

Salsa is just miles easier to learn, and he's had a crack at it prepping for the dance offs.  so I also hope it's Salsa, although I'm sure he could do a good Samba.  It's much easier for Len to find the faults in a prescribed syllabus like Samba than a more looser social dance like Salsa.    

Edited November 10, 2016 by RedFiat

[CED9]

Aaaand...Jive is their trio. Lol. So much for that discussion.

[RedFiat]

oh, Jive....okay well he had to do it for dance off, and he had Jitterbug with "jive" elements so I'm good with that. Also, Jive trios can be really great.  

[RedFiat]

I can't be more excited about the next round! 

James and Sharna
Individual Dance – Argentine Tango (Song: “Santa Maria” by Gotan Project)
Trio with Jenna – Jive (Song: Give Me Some Lovin'” by the Spencer Davis Group)
1-800-868-3405

Hello! Finally a real Argentine song by a real modern Argentine group.  and the Jive should be a ton of fun, although thanks producers for giving Sharna Jive on a bum knee. 

anybody see this movie?  This is Santa Maria .. woo hoo

[ElectricCityy]

I wonder if Sharna knew the styles they'd be getting for semi-finals which is why she took the extra week to rest her knee. They could have a real moment with that AT if it all goes smoothly.