Louis van Amstel is ready to return to the Dancing With the Stars ballroom 20 years after its launch.
“There was no hesitation participating — same as 20 years ago when I got the call,” van Amstel, 53, exclusively shared with Us Weekly before the show’s Tuesday, November 11, 20th Birthday Party episode. “Without hesitation, I said, ‘Yes, I’m interested.’ And that’s how I became the first pro to join Dancing With the Stars season 1.”
In 2005, van Amstel took a risk when he agreed to help launch a new kind of reality show that paired celebrities with professional dancers.
Hosted by Tom Bergeron and Lisa Canning, the show initially only had six celebrities. While van Amstel and his partner Trista Sutter were eliminated first, he went on to participate in nine seasons.
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“Lisa Rinna in season two, we became best friends,” van Amstel shared with Us when recalling his previous partnerships. “Then fast forward, of course, Priscilla Presley in season six. What an amazing woman. And from all my celebrities, I see her the most. We always have dinner when I come to Los Angeles and what a quality woman.”
van Amstel also praised Paula Deen for being “so authentic” and “so real,” adding that he never laughed more than he did with Niecy Nash.
His most memorable season, however, was in 2099, when he was paired up with Kelly Osbourne. The pair made it all the way to the finals in what van Amstel describes as a life-changing season.
“That was a journey for the books. That not only affected her, but it also affected me profoundly. It affected so many people who watch the show,” he said. “Her weight loss was secondary, but seeing her blossom from the ground up to a princess. I just love her and her family so much.”
Since leaving the show in 2012, van Amstel continues to get people moving and grooving with his LaBlast Fitness company.
He also continues to pay it forward with his Dance Outside the Box nonprofit. Every class van Amstel and his team lead and every instructor the organization certifies is part of a mission to help people recover from trauma, rebuild their health and step into new careers that create ripples of hope in their communities.
While van Amstel admits he may not be as active on social media as other past and present Dancing With the Stars pros, it’s not because he’s a “private person that does not want to be transparent.”
Instead, he joked that he feels the pressure when he sees Derek Hough, Cheryl Burke, Maks Chmerkovskiy and other pros with more than 700,000 Instagram followers.
“I have a company to run. I still teach ballroom dancing. I have a foundation and I’m a father,” he said. “I want to live life. I want it to be a balanced life, and now I can say, proudly, I have a balanced life.”
As season 34 of Dancing With the Stars continues to unfold, van Amstel remains a dedicated fan who is rooting for the entire cast and crew.
While he respects producers’ choices to have more TikTok stars, influencers and “more people with millions of followers” compete, he’s hoping one person in particular has their own life-changing season.
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“My close friend Elaine Hendricks,” he said. “I want Elaine to go to the final.”
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
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