Louis Van Amstel
Louis van Amstel (born June 23, 1972, Amsterdam) is a Dutch-born American ballroom dance champion,[1] professional dancer, choreographer, and a dancesport coach who appears on the U.S. reality television series Dancing with the Stars.[2]
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[edit] Early life
Louis van Amstel was born in Amsterdam; his grandparents were competitive ballroom dancers. He began dancing at 10 and entered competitions at 15. He stopped attending school at 16 to pursue dancing full-time.[3][citation needed]
[edit] Career
[edit] Early career
In 1989, he partnered with British dancer Julie Fryer, and they won several competitions over the next several years. He won three world Latin Dance championship gold medals in 1994, 1995 and 1996, becoming a 7-time Dutch and 3-time world champion. He moved to New York City in 1991 and after he stopped competing, at age 26, and began coaching dancers such as Tony Dovolani, Karina Smirnoff, and Maksim Chmerkovskiy. He founded a dance company, VanDance.[citation needed]
He became an American citizen in July 1999[4] and started competing with Karina Smirnoff; they won the United States national championship in 2000.
[edit] Dancing with the Stars
Van Amstel was cast for season 1 of Dancing with the Stars in early 2005. He was partnered with Trista Sutter, but they were the first to be eliminated from the competition. In season 2, he was partnered with hostess Lisa Rinna, with whom he reached fourth place. He choreographed the ensuing national tours until 2008.[citation needed]
Van Amstel returned in season 3 and was partnered with High School Musical star Monique Coleman. During the eighth week of the competition, they received two 10s for their Cha-Cha-Cha marking Van Amstel's only 10s of Dancing With The Stars to date. They made it to the semi-finals, but were eliminated, resulting in a fourth place finish. He did not participate in season 4 due to all the females being taller than he, but he nonetheless maintained a role as a performer and choreographer throughout the season and season 5.[3]
He returned in season 6 and was partnered with actress, businesswoman, and wife of Elvis Presley Priscilla Presley. The couple made it to the fifth week, but were eliminated, resulting in an eighth place finish. He returned in season 9 and was partnered with reality TV star and singer Kelly Osbourne. The couple made it to the finale where they finished in third place. He returned in season 10 and was partnered with Reno 911! star Niecy Nash. The couple made it to the eighth week, but were eliminated, resulting in a fifth place finish. Before returning to Dancing With The Stars for season 11, Van Amstel appeared in the season finale of the Bachelor Pad as a dance instructor for a dance competition for future winners David and Natalie.[citation needed]
For season 11 of Dancing With The Stars, Van Amstel was partnered with actress and comedian Margaret Cho. The couple made it to the third week, but were eliminated, resulting in a tenth place finish. Van Amstel appeared in Cho's comedy music album Cho Dependent as her therapist. In July 2011, he appeared as himself in an episode of Drop Dead Diva, called "The Wedding" with Cho. During the 200th episode celebration of Dancing With The Stars in season 11, Van Amstel won the award for biggest dancer transformation.[citation needed]
For season 12 of Dancing With The Stars, he was partnered with playboy model and reality star Kendra Wilkinson. During the fifth week in the competition, they danced the 1000th competitive dance. The couple made it to the seventh week, but were eliminated, resulting in a sixth place finish.[citation needed]
[edit] Other work
During his time off from Dancing With The Stars, Van Amstel set up a not-for profit dance company called "Visionworx Dance Theater," which combines all four major dance forms. He also choreographed and appeared on numerous TV shows such as The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Hannah Montana, and All My Children.[3]
After season 6 of Dancing with the Stars, Van Amstel was asked to create and choreograph a show called Ballroom With A Twist, which featured a rotating cast of dancers. The show also featured former American Idol contestants including David Hernandez and Carly Smithson. Ballroom With A Twist recently toured in theaters around the country and was very successful. He choreographed seven dances on season 5 of So You Think You Can Dance. Three of the seven dances made it to the finale and were mentioned as the judges' favorite picks at the Kodak theater in Hollywood. He continued choreographing in seasons 6, 7, and 8.[citation needed]
[edit] Personal life
Van Amstel is openly gay, and first came out (to his mother) at 15. However, he does not label himself as gay because he does not want to be put in a box.[4] During the story week in season 11 of Dancing With The Stars, Van Amstel partnered with Margaret Cho and blamed Cho's gay pride-themed performance for being kicked off the show. He said, "I don't want to be labeled [as gay] because labeling is the beginning of discrimination and hatred."[5]
[edit] Dancing with the Stars performances
Season 1: With Trista Sutter:
| Week | Dance/Song | Carrie Ann's Score | Len's Score | Bruno's Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Waltz/"Come Away With Me" | 6 | 6 | 6 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Rumba/"Endless Love" | 6 | 7 | 6 | Eliminated |
Season 2: With Lisa Rinna:
| Week | Dance/Song | Carrie Ann's Score | Len's Score | Bruno's Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Waltz/"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" | 5 | 7 | 7 | Safe |
| 2 | Rumba/"Your Song" | 6 | 7 | 7 | Safe |
| 3 | Jive/"Jailhouse Rock" | 8 | 9 | 8 | Safe |
| 4 | Paso Doble/"The Final Countdown" | 9 | 9 | 8 | Safe |
| 5 | Samba/"Le Freak" | 7 | 9 | 9 | Safe |
| 6 | Quickstep/"9 to 5" | 9 | 9 | 9 | Bottom Two |
| 7 | Foxtrot/"Fever" Cha-Cha-Cha/"Material Girl" |
8 9 |
9 9 |
9 9 |
Eliminated |
Season 3: With Monique Coleman:
| Week | Dance/Song | Carrie Ann's Score | Len's Score | Bruno's Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Foxtrot/"Baby Love" | 6 | 6 | 7 | Safe |
| 2 | Mambo/"Bop to the Top" | 9 | 8 | 9 | Safe |
| 3 | Jive/"The Heat Is On" | 9 | 9 | 9 | Safe |
| 4 | Waltz/"If I Were A Painting" | 8 | 8 | 8 | Bottom Two |
| 5 | Rumba/"Samba de Verão" | 9 | 9 | 9 | Safe |
| 6 | Samba/"ABC" | 9 | 7 | 7 | Safe |
| 7 | Quickstep/"Luck Be a Lady" Paso Doble/"The Reflex" |
9 9 |
9 9 |
9 9 |
Bottom Two |
| 8 | Tango/"Somebody's Watching Me" Cha-Cha-Cha/"Ghostbusters Theme" |
8 9 |
8 10 |
8 10 |
Eliminated |
Season 6: With Priscilla Presley:
| Week | Dance/Song | Carrie Ann's Score | Len's Score | Bruno's Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Foxtrot/"Feeling Good" | 8 | 8 | 8 | Safe |
| 2 | Mambo/"Deixa Isso Pra La" | 7 | 7 | 7 | Safe |
| 3 | Tango/"El Choclo" | 8 | 9 | 9 | Safe |
| 4 | Viennese Waltz/"Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" | 7 | 7 | 8 | Bottom Two |
| 5 | Rumba/"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" | 7 | 7 | 7 | Eliminated |
Season 9: With Kelly Osbourne:
| Week | Dance/Song | Carrie Ann's Score | Len/Baz's Score | Bruno's Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Viennese Waltz/"Trouble" Cha-Cha-Cha/"Centerfold" |
7 Awarded |
8 8 |
8 Points |
Safe |
| 2 | Tango/"Take Me on the Floor" | 6 | 7 | 6 | Safe |
| 3 | Samba/"LoveGame" | 7 | 6 | 7 | Safe |
| 4 | Charleston/"Cabaret" | 8 | 7 | 8 | Safe |
| 5 | Paso Doble/"Crazy Train" | 8 | 8 | 8 | Safe |
| 6 | Jitterbug/"Bread and Butter" Mambo Marathon/"Ran Kan Kan" |
7 Awarded |
6 5 |
7 Points |
Safe |
| 7 | Salsa/"Good Lovin'" Team Tango/"You Give Love a Bad Name" |
8 9 |
8 9 |
8 10 |
Safe |
| 8 | Foxtrot/"Mama Do (Uh Oh Uh Oh)" '60s Jive/"River Deep - Mountain High" |
8 8 |
8 9 |
9 9 |
Last to Be Called Safe |
| 9 | Rumba/"Angels" Quickstep/"99 Red Balloons" Cha-Cha-Cha/"Girls Just Want to Have Fun" |
8 9 9 |
8 9 9 |
8 9 9 |
Last to Be Called Safe |
| 10 | Argentine Tango/"Los Vino" Megamix/"You and Me", "Whenever, Wherever", "Maniac" Freestyle/"I Will Survive" Viennese Waltz/"Trouble" |
9 Awarded 8 Awarded |
9 26 8 26 |
8 Points 8 Points |
Third Place |
Season 10: With Niecy Nash:
| Week | Dance/Song | Carrie Ann's Score | Len's Score | Bruno's Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cha-Cha-Cha/"Rescue Me" | 7 | 5 | 6 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Foxtrot/"Love You I Do" | 7 | 7 | 7 | Safe |
| 3 | Waltz/"With You I'm Born Again" | 7 | 7 | 7 | Safe |
| 4 | Rumba/"Taking Chances" - Technique Rumba/"Taking Chances" - Performance |
6 6 |
6 6 |
6 6 |
Last to Be Called Safe |
| 5 | Jive/"La Bamba" | 6 | 6 | 6 | Safe |
| 6 | Argentine Tango/"El Sonido De La Milonga" Swing Marathon/"In the Mood" |
7 Awarded |
7 5 |
7 Points |
Bottom Two |
| 7 | Quickstep/"You're the Top" Team Madonna/"Holiday" |
9 8 |
8 8 |
8 8 |
Safe |
| 8 | Viennese Waltz/"I Got You Babe" '90s Paso Doble/"Rhythm is a Dancer" |
7 7 |
8 6 |
8 7 |
Eliminated |
Season 11: With Margaret Cho:
| Week | Dance/Song | Carrie Ann's Score | Len's Score | Bruno's Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Viennese Waltz/"We Are The Champions" | 5 | 5 | 5 | Safe |
| 2 | Jive/"Dreaming" | 6 | 6 | 6 | Safe |
| 3 | Samba/"Copacabana" | 6 | 6 | 6 | Eliminated |
Season 12: With Kendra Wilkinson:
| Week | Dance/Song | Carrie Ann/Donnie's Score | Len's Score | Bruno's Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cha-Cha-Cha/"When Love Takes Over" | 6 | 6 | 6 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Quickstep/"Gotta Work" | 7 | 6 | 6 | Safe |
| 3 | Rumba/"You and Me" | 8 | 7 | 8 | Safe |
| 4 | Viennese Waltz/"Time To Say Goodbye" | 6 | 6 | 6 | Safe |
| 5 | Foxtrot/"Yankee Doodle Dandy" | 8 | 7 | 7 | Safe |
| 6 | Samba/"Livin' la Vida Loca" | 8 | 8 | 9 | Safe |
| 7 | Team Cha-Cha-Cha/"We R Who We R" Tango/"Jealousy" |
7/7 8/8 |
8 7 |
8 8 |
Eliminated |
[edit] Awards
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This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2011) |
(with partner Julie Fryer)
- 1990, Dutch Latin champions
- Finalists in the Blackpool "under 21" category
- German Open, bronze medal
- World Latin, bronze medal
- 1991, Dutch Latin champions
- 1994, World Amateur Latin Champion
- 1995, World Amateur Latin Champion
- 1995, European Amateur Latin Champion
- 1995, Amateur Grand-Slam Winners (UK-Champions, British Champions, International Champions, European and World Champions)
- Professional since November 1995
- 1996, World Professional Showdance Champion
- Professional World Latin Finalist (with partner Karina Smirnoff)
- 2000, U.S. National Latin champion
- 2000, Can-Am Dancesport Gala-Canadian Open Professional Championships: 1st place in Open Professional International Latin Division
- 2000, Japan International Dancing Championships: 1st place in Professional Latin section
- 2000, Emerald Ball Dancesport Championships: 1st place in Open Professional Latin division
[edit] References
- ^ Louis Van Amstel profile
- ^ Dancing With The Stars website
- ^ a b c dancingwithlouis.com
- ^ a b Davis, Andrew (April 28, 2010). "Dancing with the Stars' Louis Van Amstel on Kate Gosselin and his sexuality". Windy City Media Group. http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/ARTICLE.php?AID=26345. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
- ^ Perezhilton.com "Louis van Amstel Blames Margaret Cho's Gay Pride Message For Losing DWTS!". perezhilton.com. October 15, 2010. http://perezhilton.com/2010-10-15-margaret-chos-dance-partner-blames-her-for-being-kicked-off-dancing-with-the-stars Perezhilton.com. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
[edit] External links
- 1972 births
- Living people
- American ballroom dancers
- American people of Dutch descent
- Dutch dancers
- Dutch emigrants to the United States
- LGBT dancers
- LGBT sportspeople from the Netherlands
- LGBT people from the Netherlands
- Naturalized citizens of the United States
- People from Amsterdam
- So You Think You Can Dance choreographers
- LGBT broadcasters
