Dancing with the Stars: Calvin Johnson Jr. and Lindsay Arnold Perform Charleston Inspired by KURIOS to Kick Off Cirque du Soleil Night

The first couple to step into the “Dancing with the Stars” ballroom for Cirque du Soleil night is Calvin Johnson Jr. and Lindsay Arnold, performing the Charleston inspired by KURIOS — Cabinet of Curiosities.

Julianne Hough says that they were light on their feet and quikrky, while Bruno Tonioli is impressed by how much Johnson lifted Arnold. He warns to be careful with his flips, however, and advises to speed it up a bit. Carrie Ann Inaba, putting her strictness for lifts aside, likes his footwork as well. They score a 23 out of 30.

Watch Calvin Johnson Jr. and Lindsay Arnold’s KURIOS-Inspired Charleston

The glitz and glamor of Cirque du Soleil takes over the ballroom tonight in a special performance episode. Couples will perform dances inspired by various Cirque du Soleil shows, including The Beatles LOVE, Michael Jackson ONE, PARAMOUR, “O,” Mystère, KURIOS — Cabinet of Curiosities, Zumanity, KÀ, and La Nouba. Troupe members and professional Cirque du Soleil performers, aerialists and acrobats will accompany the artistically-infused dances. Two couples will be sent home in tomorrow night’s results show, which will also include performances from DNCE, the male pros and a special number from Derek Hough.

Dancing with the Stars Social Media Reactions

Damn Megatron is tall as hell #DWTS

— Shy (Hoop City Shy) (@SharonShyBrown) October 4, 2016

Calvin's wife is GORGEOUS. What a beautiful couple! #DWTS Uh oh now he's lifting Lindsey. Don't drop her!

— Ann Marie Pincivero (@ampincivero) October 4, 2016

Calvin is killlllin the footwork game dammnnnnn #dwts

— cat♡ (@_donohoe_) October 4, 2016

I just saw #KURIOS and now I got to relive it through Lindsay and Calvin's dance! Amazing start to the show! #DWTS

— Ling Xu (@recyc_ling) October 4, 2016

According to ABC, “Calvin Johnson Jr. was born in Newnan, Georgia. He is known to many as one of the NFL’s best wide receivers of all times. Most people in the football world know him as ‘Megatron.’ He is also a philanthropist and a family oriented man,” instilled with significant values at an early age by his parents.

It's Cirque Du Soleil week on @dancingabc @megatron and I are working so hard on our Charleston, we can't wait for Monday!! #DWTS #cirquedusoleil #kurios

A post shared by Lindsay Arnold Cusick (@lindsarnold) on Oct 1, 2016 at 10:45am PDT

Now in its 23rd season, “Dancing with the Stars” is hosted by Tom Bergeron and sports broadcaster Erin Andrews. The judging panel is composed of ballroom experts Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba, Julianne Hough and Bruno Tonioli. Their scores, along with America’s votes, determine who gets to stay and who is sent home each week.

This season’s star-studded line-up includes Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez with Val Chmerkovskiy, actress Marilu Henner with Derek Hough, model Amber Rose with Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte with Cheryl Burke, rapper Vanilla Ice with Witney Carson, former NFL wide receiver Calvin Johnson Jr. with Lindsay Arnold, actress Maureen McCormick with Artem Chigvintsev, R&B singer-songwriter Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds with Allison Holker, reality TV star Terra Jolé with Sasha Farber, country singer Jana Kramer with Gleb Savchenko, and IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe with Sharna Burgess. Actor Jake T. Austin and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry were eliminated in the first two weeks of competition.

“Dancing with the Stars” airs Monday and Tuesday nights starting at 8 p.m. on ABC.

What did you think of their performance tonight? Sound off in the comments section below!

Photo credit: ABC

Read more: Normani Kordei and Val Chmerkovskiy Dance Breathtaking Contemporary Routine to ‘Freedom’