Dancing With the Stars comes with a twist this week. The celebrities and their professional partners will do individual dances, as with every week, but then they’ll be paired up with another couple. This won’t be a dance-off like last week, where one couple was victorious; the couples will compete together, each performing a number inspired by a Broadway show.
For Derek Hough and Bindi Irwin, that meant travelling to New York City with Mark Ballas and Alexa PenaVega to take in Chicago: The Musical . The Daily Mail caught the foursome backstage where they posed for pictures and showed off “jazz hands” with the stars of the show, Charlotte Kate Fox and Amra-Faye Wright.
Buddy TV reported that the group will dance the Charleston to “All That Jazz/Hot Honey Rag.” Nick Carter and Shauna Burgess are joining up with Val Chmerkovskiy and Tamar Braxton for a rumba to “Hey Jude.” They took in Cirque du Soleil’s Love to find inspiration. Alex Skarlatos and Lindsay Arnold are paired with Carlos PenaVega and Witney Carson to do a Paso Doble to Queen’s “We Will Rock You.”
Even if the trip to see Chicago was inspiring for Bindi and Derek, the travel took its toll. Hough revealed in his blog for TV Guide that the long flight from Los Angeles left him anxious to get some work done. He also admitted the partner dance with Mark and Alexa is far from finished.
“Time is of the essence and every time you have to get in the car and get to the airport and then spend six hours on a flight, you’re like, ‘We can be working right now!’
“It still needs a lot of work. We haven’t even finished it yet and it’s Saturday. We gotta get the troupe in there and see how it looks. It’s a process. When we started doing jazz for ‘Chicago,’ Bindi was struggling picking it up and getting frustrated. My poor little Bindi! She’s reaching that point of pure exhaustion.”
Ironically, his blog was published the same day he posted an Instagram photo of a much-beloved international location, London. Hough spent 10 years in the city with his sister Julianne, studying dance under the tutelage of Mark Ballas’ parents.
If Irwin is indeed exhausted, it’s hard to tell from her Monday-night performances. The wildlife activist is known as much for her energy, enthusiasm, and positivity as her spot-on dance steps. But as the finale draws closer, Bindi and Derek face tough competition from the other teams. Last week Nick and Sharna pulled off all 10s, the same night the former Backstreet Boy announced he and his wife are expecting a baby boy.
Bindi took to Instagram to thank Derek for his support during their more than two months as dance partners. She mentioned her fatigue and his encouragement.
“Thank you so so much for all of your support. No matter what happens @derekhough manages to make every day in the studio fun. Even when I’m super tired he gives me strength and encourages me to keep trying my best and always believe. You’re the greatest big brother I could ever ask for. You’ve changed my life and I promise to keep trying my hardest to truly help show the world what incredible dances you create. Thank you for inspiring me each day.”
To see how that Charleston-inspired by Chicago finally comes together, tune in to Dancing With the Stars Monday night at 8 p.m.
[Main photo by Araya Diaz/Getty Images Entertainment]
