Revisiting Tyler Cameron’s Time on ‘The Real Dirty Dancing’ Before His ‘DWTS’ Debut

Tyler Cameron is gearing up to hit the ballroom on Season 35 of Dancing With the Stars, which premieres on September 15. The Bachelorette alum and his pro partner, Sharna Burgess, are hoping to take home the Mirrorball trophy, but this actually won’t be Cameron’s first time on a dance competition show.

Back in 2022, he competed on the short-lived The Real Dirty Dancing on Fox. The show features celebrity contestants visiting locations from the movie Dirty Dancing and recreating iconic dance routines from the film.

He competed on the show against Howie Dorough (Backstreet Boys), Loni Love (The Real), Antonio Gates (NFL player), Brie Bella (WWE star), Anjelah Johnson-Reyes (actress), Corbin Bleu (High School Musical), and Cat Cora. He and Johnson-Reyes finished as runners-up in the competition.

In the finale episode, Cameron and Johnson-Reyes performed a rendition of the iconic “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” dance, which was originally performed by Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze in the 1987 movie. However, they lost the competition to Bleu and Cora, who finished as the winners.

During Week 1, Cameron was partnered with Love and they danced to “Hey! Baby.” He was named the “Best Johnny” of all the male competitors. For Weeks 2, 3, and 4, he was paired with Johnson-Reyes. They danced to “Hungry Eyes” then “Do You Love Me” before their finale performance.

After being announced as a DWTS contestant, Cameron said his past on The Real Dirty Dancing won’t be a big help in the ballroom. “This is a whole different ballgame,” Cameron told TV Line, while Burgess pointed out that DWTS is more “technical” than the last show Cameron was on.

“[The Real Dirty Dancing] was like … can you learn three eight counts? And that was it,” Cameron explained. “This is the real deal. I’m drowning.”

Dancing With the Stars, Season 35 Premiere, Tuesday, September 15, 8/7c, ABC