Topic: Louis Van Amstel

Louis Van Amstel (born June 23, 1972, Amsterdam) is a Dutch-born ballroom dance champion, professional dancer, choreographer, and a dancesport coach who appears on the U.S. reality television series Dancing with the Stars.

Louis Van Amstel was born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands on Friday morning June, 23rd 1972. Even though he was born in the city, he lived his childhood in a very small town outside of Amsterdam. His dance life started at the age of 10 after his family decided it was important for his social skills to learn ballroom dancing. His grandparents were competitive ballroom dancers as well. Van Amstel's mentor and coach, Ruud Vermey, cross trained him in many forms of dance and educated him in choreography as well. Van Amstel went on to do a lot of competitive ballroom dancing.

From the age of 15, he was traveling abroad representing his country in major dance competitions in both Ballroom and Latin, where he gained a lot of dancing experience. To make it big, Van Amstel had to get an international partner, move to England, and therefore stop traditional school. He and Vermey convinced his parents to permit him to terminate high school at 16 to pursue his dance career. His parents were torn, because they wanted him to finish his education, but they allowed him to go. Van Amstel went on to become a world champion in 1994.