Dancing with a star
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Intructor Louis van Amstel from “Dancing with the Stars” leads a class Tuesday at the Wilfred R. Cameron Wellness Center.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Louis van Amstel of “Dancing With the Stars” posed for a photo with Sikora during a May master class at the Wellness Center.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Van Amstel demonstrates some moves
There was a palpable buzz in the air in the Wilfred R. Cameron Wellness Center gym. More than 50 or so people nervously milled around chatting excitedly. At the front of the room stood the man responsible for all of this energy: world champion ballroom dancer and “Dancing with the Stars” pro Louis van Amstel.
He clapped his hands together a few times and gave us our instructions.
“Get out of your head, get involved and get moving,” he said with a huge smile.
He turned and started the music. From that moment, the dance party had started!
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Lauren Pirozzi of Washington follows van Amstel during the special class.
Within two minutes, the entire room was immersed in a disco frenzy channeling John Travolta’s “Saturday Night Fever” moves and disco dancing to the Bee Gees. None of us knew exactly what we were doing, but it didn’t matter. I realized after about 30 seconds that I had a huge smile on my face and it lasted through the entire class, even though the dance workout left all of us exhausted and sweaty. A full hour flew by and it didn’t even feel like we were in a gym or a fitness class at all.
The class was called LaBlast and it is van Amstel’s baby, thanks to some urging by his “DWTS Season 2” celebrity partner, Lisa Rinna.
“After season 2, we went on tour,” remembered van Amstel. “Lisa said, ‘Louis, I blame you for making me addicted to ballroom dancing. You have to start something so I can keep dancing.'”
That was nine years ago. One class grew to several, then multiplied again and again. That’s when van Amstel realized LaBlast could be a real brand. Now, he has more than 2,500 certified instructors nationwide.
So what is LaBlast?
It’s fitness powered by dance. Just imagine what you would do as a contestant on “Dancing With The Stars” and you’ve got it.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Van Amstel’s workout is based on dances seen on the TV series, “Dancing With the Stars.”
“I wanted to make sure that LaBlast is a full body workout,” said van Amstel. “We have weight training, we have paso doble for muscle endurance. The strength of LaBlast is that it’s physical, mental and emotional. You are required to show up emotionally.”
His trademark saying is that if you can clap the rhythm of a dance, you can do it.
From disco, we moved on to stomping a paso doble – I almost imagined myself swinging the bullfighter’s cape around the ballroom floor – then a slow rumba with hand weights. Van Amstel turned up the volume, fun and intensity with a rousing salsa that had everyone’s hips moving, then brought the party to a feverish close with a rousing rendition of “Proud Mary” complete, of course, with some signature Tina Turner choreography.
After this workout, you realize how all of those DWTS contestants lose so much weight. But the amazing part is that it doesn’t feel like a workout at all and you don’t spend the entire time trying to learn complicated choreography.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Megan Leslie, center, of Washington, smiles during the LaBlast fitness class.
“I thought it was excellent,” said Joan Conway of Houston after finishing the class. “It was a lot of fun! I don’t know how to dance, very uncoordinated and self-conscious, but you don’t even think about it.”
Kristy Volz of Marianna does a lot of group exercise classes at the Wellness Center, but really enjoyed this one.
“I think I could do it again because it was fun,” said Volz. “It took my mind off of everything else.”
Lauren Pirozzi of Washington echoed that sentiment, saying, “It’s a lot different. This was a lot of fun, very energetic, a great workout. Upper body, lower body, you sweat, cardio, everything all in one.”
All of the ladies agreed that you don’t need to be a good dancer to enjoy this class.
“I’m a little uncoordinated, but I tried my best,” laughed Pirozzi. “It was pretty easy to follow. I would definitely do it again!”
Despite the popularity of LaBlast, his fame from DWTS and the fact that he’s a three-time ballroom world champion, van Amstel said it’s been a struggle to get his classes into gyms or even into dance studios. Now that it’s taking off, he tells young entrepreneurs to never give up and to question their product because that will help them make it even better.
In addition to the class at the Wellness Center, van Amstel also taught a master class for 140 people at the EQT Rec Center in Waynesburg, and another class in Irwin to help spread the word about LaBlast.
“I’m just proud because nine years ago I started this by myself,” van Amstel said with a grin. “I’m still hands-on. I love traveling, doing all of these classes. It’s just great to see people who are non-believers in themselves, people that think they’re klutzy, clumsy, uncoordinated two left feet, I don’t have rhythm, I’ve heard them all. These are self-proclaimed titles that don’t exist. You just have to get out of your head and anyone can do it. There’s no judgement in here. You can be anyone you want to be.”
The first step in getting LaBlast classes locally will happen June 23 with a daylong instructor certification class at the Wellness Center from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. You don’t have to have a dance or fitness background to become a certified instructor.
For more information, contact the Wellness Center at 724-250-6209 or visit www.wrcameronwellness.org. In the meantime, you can try LaBlast classes at home online by visiting https://lablastfitness.com/.