LOS ANGELES — It looks like wowing the judges on "Dancing with the Stars" is now an Irwin family tradition. Robert Irwin hit the stage Tuesday for the first time with pro partner Witney Carson on the Season 34 premiere of "Dancing with the Stars," knocking out an upbeat jive set to "Born to Be Wild." The first thing the wildlife conservationist did after nailing the routine was run to hug his ...

Robert Irwin, left, and Witney Carson attend ABC's End of Summer Soirée at Cecconi's West Hollywood on Sept. 5, 2025, in West Hollywood, California.

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LOS ANGELES — It looks like wowing the judges on "Dancing with the Stars" is now an Irwin family tradition.

Robert Irwin hit the stage Tuesday for the first time with pro partner Witney Carson on the Season 34 premiere of "Dancing with the Stars," knocking out an upbeat jive set to "Born to Be Wild." The first thing the wildlife conservationist did after nailing the routine was run to hug his sister, Bindi Irwin, who was in the audience along with other family and friends.

The judges called the performance, which closed out the night, "absolutely brilliant."

"Crocs are my comfort zone, dancing is not," Robert Irwin said in the introductory package that was shown right before his performance. In the same compilation, Carson explained that a jive is difficult for a first dance and praised Irwin's positivity.

Bruno Tonioli was the first judge to address the pair, getting on his feet to tell Irwin that the performance "wasn't [just] good, that was great."

Derek Hough, who was Bindi's pro partner when they won the Mirror Ball during "Dancing with the Stars" Season 21, told Robert that he was "so relieved because you had some big shoes to fill."

"You didn't just fill them; you owned those shoes," said Hough, who asked if Irwin had been practicing for this moment for the last 10 years. "That was probably the best first dance I've ever seen on this show."

Earlier in the episode, Irwin said that when he watched his sister win 10 years ago, he had thought, "One day, that's going to be me."

Watching Bindi win in 2015 also served as preparation for Robert.

"I feel like I had a good idea of what this show was about coming into it, cause my sister had done it," Irvin told E! News. "Bindi just said, 'Take a breath and enjoy every single second of it ... really try and enjoy this cause it goes by so fast.'"

Irwin and Carson was awarded 15 points, which put them in a tie for top marks alongside team Whitney Leavitt and Mark Ballas.