Who is Tyra Polke? Dancing With Myself Episode 1 winner reveals how she’ll spend prize money of $25,000

NBC launched its dance reality show, Dancing With Myself, on Tuesday, featuring 12 contestants.

Dancing With Myself is a dance competition series where contestants perform from their respective pods to routines taught by judges. Each episode consists of six rounds, where two participants get eliminated in one round before the live audience picks the winner.

Episode 1's crown was bagged by 16-year-old Tyra Polke, who won the title of Ultimate Pod Star and a cash prize of $25,000.

---

Tyra Polke’s plans for her prize money

Tyra Polke beat 11 adults on Dancing With Myself to win the title in Episode 1. Before the finale round, she revealed what she would do with the prize money of $25,000.

Polke said:

“I am still in process that I am her right now and that this is happening. I have a huge family. If I won $25,000, I will for sure go on a family vacation with them. And then, put it in my college savings.”

Polke stated that she would showcase the “most amazing tricks that she’s not shown anyone yet” in her finale performance. She impressed the judges and audience with her energy, dance skills and a death drop move in the end.

Tyra Polke is a high school student and trained dancer. Introducing herself on the NBC show, she said:

“I am a 16-year-old high school student from Las Vegas. One cool fact about me is that I can speak both Japanese and English because my mom is Japanese. I am usually in my bedroom dancing, so it’s so crazy to be that I get to be on a huge stage in front of my idols.”

Going by her Instagram, Polke is associated with Movement Lifestyle Dance Studio and The Rock Center for Dance.

She has also been featured in a Nickelodeon video, CBS’ show A Home For The Holidays, the Universal Dance Awards, a Hyundai Canada commercial, and a few music videos.

Polke is also a star on TikTok, where she has an account with her sisters.

On Instagram, the four sisters, Tyra, Tia, Tunisia and Trusia, have a joint handle named “Polking Around.” The account is managed by their mother. It is filled with posts related to their daily activities, dance videos and achievements.

---

Dancing With Myself Episode 1

Episode 1 of Dancing With Myself Season 1 was incredibly entertaining. The 12 contestants gave their best in all six rounds while performing from their respective pods. The final two participants were Tyra Polke and Smac McCreanor.

The names of the rounds were:

• Round 1: All Eyes on You
• Round 2: Freestyle Battle Round
• Round 3: The Dance Along
• Round 4: Duo Collabs
• Round 5: The Shake-Up
• Round 6: Be the Creator

The official synopsis of Dancing With Myself reads:

“As each round of the competition progresses, the creators on the judging panel provide instant feedback and choose their favorites to advance, along with audience picks. Ultimately, however, it’s the studio audience that decides who is named the best dancer of the night and gets to take home the cash prize.”

The judges, known as contest creators, included Nick Jonas, Shakira and Liza Koshy, along with host Camille Kostek.

Episode 1 welcomed a special guest, comedian Nikki Glaser, through video conferencing. She choreographed Round 3's song Out in the Sun by Michael Front and Spearhead.

Dancing With Myself will air new episodes every Tuesday for eight weeks on NBC at 10.00 PM ET.