John and James decided to have a dance-off.  John danced for 3 hours and then another 5 hours after taking a 1-hour break.  James danced the whole time John was dancing and resting, and then another 1/3 times more hours.  How long was their combined dancing time without including  John's break time?
John dances 3+5=8 hours
John's total time is 3+5+1=9 hours
James dances 9/3=3 hours longer than that
So James dances 9+3=12 hours
So the total dancing time is 8+12=20 hours