Louis van Amstel

Born and raised in the Netherlands, professional dancer Louis van Amstel initially attended theater school in his native country, training in the areas of jazz, ballet, and tap, then he subsequently trained under the aegis of noted instructor Dr. Ruud Vermeij at the University of the Arts in Amsterdam. In the years to follow, van Amstel amassed a myriad of dance-related honors including 1996 World Professional Showdance Champion and 1995 European Amateur Latin Champion. Upon immigrating to the United States, he extended his dance-related activity to choreography by writing, producing, and starring in the Broadway production Latin Fusion, and by founding and running the corporations VanDance and later Visionworx Dance, a company devoted to creating exciting, electric, and innovative new dance moves and training younger generations of dancers. Van Amstel attained a substantial amount of national celebrity via his involvement in television, as a participant in several seasons of the ABC competitive reality series Dancing with the Stars. The program witnessed van Amstel teaming up with such dance partners as Trista Rehn Sutter, Lisa Rinna, and Priscilla Presley. - Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide