During the same year, they received a bronze medal at the German Open, at the World Latin and at the European 10 Dance.
A year later, Van Amstel decided that he wanted to retire from competing for a while and ended his partnership with Fryer for the first time.
Three years later, in 1994, the partnership was re-established, and Van Amstel and Fryer went on to win three world Latin Dance championship gold medals in 1994, 1995 and 1996.
In 1997, Van Amstel retired from competitive ballroom dancing, moved to New York City, and became an American citizen in July 1999.
[4] He returned to competitive dancing with partner Karina Smirnoff; they won the United States national championship in 2000.
Van Amstel returned in season three and was partnered with High School Musical star Monique Coleman.
For season eleven of Dancing with the Stars, Van Amstel was partnered with actress and comedian Margaret Cho.
For the show's twelfth season, Van Amstel was partnered with playboy model and reality star Kendra Wilkinson.
Wilkinson later published her book, Being Kendra, in which she said she and van Amstel clashed constantly and that he called her dyslexic and learning disabled.
He also choreographed and appeared on numerous TV shows such as The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Hannah Montana, and All My Children.
[3] After season six 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.
During the summer of that year, Van Amstel started a fitness clothing line, branded LVA.
[4] On January 8, 2017, Van Amstel married his long-time boyfriend Joshua Lancaster in Sundance, Utah.
In November 2019, Van Amstel made headlines after he revealed that a substitute teacher shamed his son for having two gay dads and subjected his fifth-grade class to a 10-minute anti-gay lecture.
[9] ^* Due to Len Goodman's absence in week 2, the 7 was awarded by stand-in guest judge Baz Luhrmann.