Tinka Hessenheffer is a main character on Shake it Up where she dances on the local popular teen dance show, Shake It Up, Chicago!. She is usually never seen without her twin brother, Gunther.
History[]
Tinka was born in a small mountain country in Eastern Europe with her fraternal twin brother, Gunther. Her mother, Squitza Hessenheffer, was a princess in their country until her father her dethroned her for marrying a commoner, Kashlack. Tinka came to America with her family when she was a child. In "Add It Up", she revealed that they flew to Chicago on a business class flight. She and her twin brother were enrolled as exchange students since the 1st grade in elementary school, where she met CeCe Jones and Rocky Blue. She moved on with her brother and classmates to John Hughes High School. When she was 13-years-old in the 8th grade, she auditioned for the local teen dance show, Shake It Up, Chicago! and passed, becoming one of the newest teen background dancers.
Personality[]
Tinka is described as a flamboyant, fashionable, unique, weird, theatrical, and ambitious dancer on "Shake It Up, Chicago!." She is from a fictional country that has not been mentioned by name, but is often referred to by the twins as they differentiate American traditions from their own. Her taste in attire is loud and catchy and celebrates her love of performing. It is revealed in "Show It Up" that she and her brother have musical abilities as they performed two popular songs from their country. It is shown that she and Gunther both have sock puppets they make outfits for and call "Little Gunther" and "Little Tinka", first introduced in "Hot Mess It Up". She is known to insult CeCe and Rocky any chance she gets but can be nice when she wants to be. In "Shrink It Up", Gary Wilde calls them out for always being mean. They attempt to be nice and pick Deuce to try it out. In "Vatalihootsit It Up", Gunther and Tinka invite Rocky and CeCe to come to their home to celebrate Vatalihootsit Day, a holiday where you celebrate your enemies. There are many strange rituals they perform. Their parents turn out to be even more strange than Gunther and Tinka and they are revealed to be royalty; their mother was a princess until she was dethroned for marrying a commoner. Their parents tell Rocky and CeCe that they know Tinka and Gunther are not "well liked at school" and that their coming "meant the world" to the twins.
Relationships With Other Characters[]
Gunther Hessenheffer (Twin Brother)[]
Gunther and Tinka are fraternal twins and best friends, who spend most of their time with each other. They are also dance partners on Shake It Up, Chicago. In "Add It Up", Tinka feels lonely, wanting a boy to like her after always seeing couples act affectionately towards each other. Gunther offers to take her out on a date, but Tinka states that she wants a "real date". Gunther looks shocked and horrified when Tinka points out that "it's not like we're going to grow up and get married!" The first time they are not seen together is in "Heat It Up". They often wear flashy matching clothes, and they are shown to have musical abilities, singing two songs (A Goat for Christmas and Your Uncle is a Werewolf) together for the school talent show in "Show It Up". It is revealed that they take care of their little cousin Klaus Hessenheffer in "Auction It Up" and "Judge It Up". In "Made in Japan" their closeness is formally revealed when Tinka is arrested and almost deported. Gunther is extremely upset over it and seems like he was having anxiety at the thought of being separated from his sister for even a couple of days. In Fire It Up Tinka is very upset because her brother went back to the old country.
CeCe Jones (Good Friend/Former Frenemy)[]
Tinka is a frenemy (friends in Season 3) of CeCe's, fellow dancer on Shake It Up! Chicago, and schoolmate at JHHS. Tinka, along with Gunther, often argue with CeCe and Rocky backstage on Shake It Up, Chicago. Tinka takes every opportunity to make fun of or insult CeCe, such as mocking CeCe about her freezing on the Shake It Up, Chicago stage in "Start It Up", they can be civil and friendly towards each other, as seen in "Kick It Up", where CeCe invites Tinka to the movies. In "Break It Up", the two were seen sitting together and Tinka asked CeCe not to leave her alone with Deuce. They shared other friendly moments in "Auction It Up" and "Judge It Up" when Tinka gave money to CeCe (and Rocky) after the twins realized they were wrong. Even though these two rarely bond, let alone have a civil conversation with each other, they still maintain a decent 'frenemy' relationship. In Slumber It Up Cece insists on inviting Tinka. In Fire It Up Cece claims Tinka gained their friendship, meaning they are friends. Later,In the middle of season 3 they become Good Friends.
Rocky Blue (Former Frenemy, Really Close Friend)[]
Tinka is Rocky's frenemy. They don't often get along and Tinka takes every opportunity to insult Rocky, but not as much as CeCe. They were friendly in the episode "Vatalihootsit It Up" when Rocky accepted her invitation to their home. Rocky approaches her and Gunther in "Show It Up" to suggest that they join as one team to beat Candy Cho in the talent show. In "Split It Up", Tinka seeks help from Rocky after the two of them were left out of being featured to dance on Good Morning Chicago. She tries to make her feel jealous about CeCe and Gunther dancing on the morning show together. In Slumber It Up, Tinka and Rocky fight a lot at first but then they make up and hug. In Fire It Up Rocky says Tinka gained their friendship, meaning they are friends.
Ty Blue (Friends/Possible Love Interst)[]
Tinka and Ty went on a date in "Add It Up", where he described her as "a whackjob with good hair." Gunther paid a hesitant Ty $50 to ask Tinka out because she felt bad about never going on a date. They danced together and got to know each other during the date. By the end of it, Tinka admitted she enjoyed the date, and so did Ty, but that being a couple won't work because they're so different. They played ping pong against each other in "Camp It Up", where Ty was again hesitant to play against her, because she's a girl. Tinka demanded that he not go easy on her just because she's a girl. In Whodunit Up? Ty was happy when he thought Tinka left him the secret admirer note and upset when he found out she didn't. In Ty It Up, Tinka dances with Ty for her audition to get back on Shake It Up, Chicago!. Caroline Sunshine, who plays Tinka, has acknowledged this couple on her Twitter, saying that her favorite episode is when Ty and Tinka went on a date; she also hashtagged "tynka". It has been rumored on some websites that Tinka will date Ty in Season 3, but it is still unknown if it is truly confirmed.
Deuce Martinez (Frenemy/Friend)[]
Deuce and Tinka have only interacted with each other a few times in the series. Tinka told Deuce that he could use a little help with his hair ("Give It Up"), and they have a conversation with each other in "Three's a Crowd It Up" when he tries to sell her a Betwinkler X-96 Turbo he also said she looked good. In "Break It Up", Deuce said he'd kiss Tinka out of all the other girls on the trip during a game of Truth or Dare. Rocky admits to being disgusted, relieved, and offended that he chose her. When CeCe said she wanted to check on Rocky in the lake, Tinka told her "No. Don't leave me here with... Deuce." In Tunnel It Up, when Deuce took Tinka's picture he said she was beautiful, this could indicates that he thinks that she's a babe. In Spirit It Up Deuce got mad at his girl friend for being mean to Tinka.
Flynn Jones (Friend)[]
Flynn and Tinka have only interacted a few times. She and Gunther babysit him for the first time in "Meatball It Up", where Flynn calls her "Tinkle". They then babysit him again in "Break It Up" where they play a few games while the rest of the group is at the hospital following Rocky's foot injury. Tinka made a "Little Flynn" sock puppet, much to his delight, but Gunther scared him away with the Lake Monster sock puppet and when he ran away she laughed.
Dina Garcia (Good Friend/"Best Friend")[]
Dina and Tinka first interacted with each other in Slumber It Up They seemed to get along well and not fight nearly as much as Tinka fights with Rocky Blue and CeCe Jones. In Spirit It Up, Tinka and Dina became "best friends" and Dina almost gave up her boyfriend to maintain Tinka's friendship. The only reason Dina went back to Deuce was because Tinka found a boy of her own and Dina realized how it felt to be a third wheel.
Episode Appearances[]
Season 1[]
- Start It Up: Tinka auditions for Shake It Up, Chicago! along with Gunther, CeCe, and Rocky.
- Meatball It Up: Tinka and Gunther babysit Flynn and Flynn tricks them into doing things that babysitters don't really do.
- Give It Up: Tinka and Gunther dance in the Shake It Up, Chicago! dance marathon and plan to use the money to buy hair products for charity.
- Add It Up: Tinka wants to go on a date. Therefore, Gunther pays Ty to go on a date with his sister.
- Kick It Up: CeCe goes to the movies with Tinka when she and Rocky are taking a break. Tinka helps CeCe realize that it's okay to spend a lot of time with your best friend.
- Age It Up: Tinka is not pleased when Gunther changes to impress a girl.
- Hook It Up: Tinka and Gunther start to kiss Gary's butt for no reason.
- Show It Up: Rocky and CeCe invite Tinka and Gunther to join them in the Talent Show. They eventually deceive the girls and join Randy and Candy.
- Heat It Up: Tinka enters the school science fair with a life form she created.
- Hot Mess It Up: Tinka tries to move pass her arguments with CeCe, since CeCe is going out with Gunther.
- Vatalihootsit It Up: Tinka and Gunther invite Rocky and CeCe to celebrate Valatihootsit Day with their family.
- Break It Up: Tinka and the gang go on a camping trip. Later on, the Hessenheffers babysit Flynn and scare him with monster stories.
- Throw It Up: Tinka takes over Rocky and CeCe's spotlight dance when they get the flu.
Season 2[]
- Shrink It Up: Tinka and Gunther decide to start being nice to people, beginning with Deuce.
- Three's A Crowd It Up: Tinka, Rocky, and CeCe fight over a boy named Julio.
- Shake It Up, Up & Away: Tinka and Gunther plot to get CeCe and Rocky kicked off Shake It Up, Chicago! when they see the two of them get on a different bus.
- Auction It Up: Tinka and Gunther give Rocky and CeCe money to pay for their old school, if they babysit their evil little cousin, Klaus.
- Camp It Up: Tinka and Ty have a ping-pong match.
- Split It Up: Tinka gets mad when Gunther and CeCe are selected to dance on Good Morning, Chicago.
- Judge It Up: Rocky and CeCe sue Tinka and Gunther after they claimed that they didn't get paid for dancing at Klaus' party, but Tinka and Gunther say they didn't deserve to be paid. They all end up in Teen Court and say their points of view of what had happened in completely different versions.
- Whodunit Up?: Things keep going weird in the studio and Tinka and the gang find out that a phantom is trying to kill Gary.
- Tunnel It Up: Tinka, CeCe, and Rocky want to go the school Spring Formal for different reasons, but find out that they have to dance on the Shake It Up Saturday Night Special at the same time.
- Protest It Up: Tinka and the school are forced to wear school uniforms, and Tinka joins Rocky's protest against them.
- Reality Check It Up: True Teen Life claims Tinka is the Heart and Soul of Shake It Up, and when Rocky supposedly insults her, she gets offended and leaves.
- Rock and Roll It Up: Tinka, along with Gunther, CeCe, and Rocky, listen to the story told by Gary's grandmother, Edie.
- Slumber It Up: CeCe invites Tinka to a slumber party with her, Rocky, and Dina.
- Made In Japan: She & Guther lost their bags in the Kimpo Airport.
Season 3[]
- Fire It Up: Tinka tries to become Rocky and CeCe's friend. They accept her friendship at the end of the episode.
- Spirit It Up: Tinka becomes friends with Dina, causing Deuce to feel like a third wheel.
- Oh Brother It Up: Tinka makes a cake for Jeremy's birthday dinner.
- Quit It Up: Rocky enlists Tinka to help out with the bridesmaid dresses.
- Ty It Up: Without Gunther around, Tinka wouldn't be able to audition for Shake It Up, Chicago again. Therefore, Rocky convinces Ty to dance with her.
- I Do It Up: Tinka attends Georgia's and Jeremy's wedding.
- Forward & Back It Up: Tinka helps CeCe and Ty with their plans to get Rocky back on Shake It Up, Chicago.
- Switch It Up: Tinka accidently states one of her grandmother's curses, causing a switch of bodies between CeCe and Flynn.
- Love & War It Up: Deuce and Flynn invite Tinka to be in their air guitar band.
Trivia[]
- Tinka and Gunther both have an accent that is mistaken for both German and Russian. Their home country is anonymous.
- Between her and Gunther, she often dresses normal.
- She knits goats for Gunther a lot.
- She carries a large rock in her purse. ("Three's A Crowd It Up")
- Tinka may or may not have feelings for Ty. ("Add It Up")
- She knows how to play Ping Pong. ("Camp It Up")
- Ty thought she was his secret admirer. ("Whodunit Up?")
- In the original pilot, Tinka was played by Stefanie Scott.
- Tinka knows how to deliver kittens. ("Add It Up")
- She is shown to be a feminist and believes in women's rights. ("Camp It Up")
- She flew to America in Business Class with her brother, Gunther and their parents. ("Give It Up")
- She wears her hair in a bun in most episodes.
- She is the second DCOS (Disney Channel Original Series) character to start off as a recurring character in the first season then become a main character in the second season after Rico. (Hannah Montana)
- Has a green card which means she can stay in America as long as she doesn't get arrested. ("Made in Japan")
- Tinka probably is rich.
- She is officially a princess.
- She is the only character who have her name in finish of relationship with the Mains characters.
- She carries a betwinkled drill. ("Slumber It Up")
- She went out on a date with Ty. ("Add It Up")
- She was the first character to have a "Spotlight Dance". (Throw It Up)
- She knows how to make dresses and other pieces of clothing. ("Quit It Up")
- She is a specialty cake baker. ("Oh Brother It Up")
- She knows how to do her hair perfectly, as well as other people's hair. (All appearances & "I Do It Up")
- Tinka may be from Poland from the dress she was wearing in Show It Up.
- Tinka has a fashion nemisis. ("In The Bag It Up")
Quotes[]
- "You're welcome, Principal Rabinoff!"
- Gunther: "I am Gunther." Tinka: "And I am Tinka." Both: "And we're the Hessenheffers!"
- "Which one of your sisters is a mister?"
- "By The Way I Was Speaking With The Manager Of The Top Rated Transatlantic Dance Crew Sensation Named For The Fluorescent Markers That Help People Study".
- Rocky: "Everybody likes me." Tinka: "Not everybody."
- "We always knew CeCe was dirty, dirty girl."
- Tinka: "Gunther, I knitted you a goat." Gunther: "I love it, I'll put it with the others."
- "Gunther's right. It is the great Bieber!"
- Gunther: "But G calls everybody 'bro'." Tinka: "When did I become 'everybody'?"
- "I see you have a flyer for the local, popular, television, dance, program."
- Tinka: "Yes, Gary, this tastes just like pancakes - if they were made from goat pancreas, rotten fruit and gerbil spit!" Gary: [runs out of his office and vomits]
- CeCe: "You brought Gunther?" Tinka: "Of course." CeCe: "Let me ask you a question, do you ever feel like you aren't individuals?" Tinka: "We are individuals. We're just individuals together."
- Tinka: "This killer is crazy." Gunther: "I know! Why would he throw away a perfectly good kidney, and not making a cobbler?" Tinka: "Hollywood writers know nothing of real life. We should write a screenplay." Gunther: "Yes, the..." Both: "Hessenheffers...in 3D!"
- "Puberty is never pretty."
- Tinka: "We would like to invite you to our Vatalihootsit day." Rocky: "Thanks, but let me ask CeCe." Gunther: "I told you she was a sidekick." Tinka: "You're right! We should have gone right to CeCe." Rocky: "Ok, but what do we wear?" Tinka (referring to Rocky's outfit): "Anything but that."
- Gunther (puppet voice): "I am Little Gunther." Tinka (puppet voice): "And I am Little Tinka." Both: "And we are the Little Hessenheffers!"
- CeCe: "We're frenemies, The first part of frenemies is friend." Tinka: "And the second part is enemies."
- "Good luck! I mean, have fun. No, I mean good luck."
- CeCe: "Rock, Paper, Scissors!?" Tinka: "Perfect! I have a large rock in my purse! Oh, you meant the version with fingers... yawn, but alright!"
- "You two, get out!"
- Gunther: "I am Gunther." Tinka: "and I am Tinka." Gunther: "And we are here to sit your baby!"
- "Save it, Gary. We are not crawling in your chimney to collect dead pigeons again."
- "So not cool. I say off with Gary's head! (Rocky and CeCe look at her in shock) Relax, it's just an expression...(Rocky and CeCe are relieved)...in this country."
- "I see you have a flyer to the Shake It Up, Chicago, local popular television dance program."
- "Sorry Deuce, been there betwinkled that,"
- Julio: "Wow you're a little mean huh?" Tinka: "You have no idea,"
- Tinka: "I'm looking forward to this Saturday too, I'm going to get my picture taken in the most beautiful dress in the world, it's nothing like I usually wear." Rocky: "Oh, good," Tinka: "It's much more exstravagant" Rocky: How? Does it shoot fireworks?" Tinka: Fingers crossed I get the permits in time,"
- "You were late-though that's not unusual, poorly dressed-though that's not unusual and your dancing was terrible, even more so than usual."
- "Point, Tinka!"
- "Oh look Gunther, someone had abig bowl of smarty pants this morning,"
- (To Gary) "Interesting, I just got a text that says you're lying,"
- Tinka: "I'm Tinka!" Dina: "And I'm Dina!" Both: "And we are sisters from different misters!"
- Ty: Hey Tinka. Got a second? I need some advice about... kind of a delicate matter. Tinka: If this involves a rash you should really see a doctor.
- Ty: "Wow! You look... not ridiculous!" Tinka: "Back atcha!" Ty: "So, where do you want to go?" Tinka: I've always wanted to see Pickle Museum in the moonlight!" Ty: "And we're back to the ridiculous. Let's go."
- (To Ty) "My Granny-mama used to play it all the time on the farm. It would relax the chickens before we cut off their heads."
- "Tinka made a joke!"
- Tinka: "Gary, I made you a get-better smoothie! One sip of this, and you'll be back on your feet in no time! Drink!" Gary: "Pancakes?" Tinka: "Yes, Gary, this tastes just like pancakes--if they were made from goat pancreas, rotten fruit, and gerbil spit."
- "Half of Chicago already has the flu, Do you really want to make the rest sick to their stomachs?"
- "If we knew this was liars court, we would have started by telling CeCe how cute her bangs are."
- (To Ty) "Are you taking it easy on me because I'm a girl? Bring your A-game or don't bother showing up!"
- (To Gunther and Flynn) "I put a curse on your children and your children's children's children, may they be born with six eyes and the tail of a disease ridden musk rat, so it is said, so shall be."
- "You milk my goat, I'll shear your sheep,"
- "Wait a minute...This is not dark chocolate sauce...This is milk chocolate sauce..."
- "We are back and better than ever, baybee!"
Gallery[]
