Louis van Amstel on tonight's 'Dancing' semi-finals

Dancing
With the Stars
heads into the semi-finals tonight, and I think our friend and Stars pro Louis van Amstel with partner Kelly Osbourne has a chance to make it to the finals. Our Gayle Jo Carter got Louis on the phone to talk about how he sees this week’s competition and the potential for staying in the game till the end. Read below for their talk.

What do you think brought you and Kelly to the semi-finals?
“First, I think Dancing With the Stars is truly about when (viewers) know a celebrity has no training and they can see it very clearly, then the celebrity goes on a journey that turns them into a dancer. Second, when everybody in America knows Kelly Osbourne as the wild child, the potty mouth, the celebrity who gets in trouble with the media, and now we’re seeing a completely different person. One who’s well spoken, open hearted, pretty, very flowy, ladylike, to see the honest reaction. It’s like a movie, to see a person who is changing and not realizing how well it does for her. That’s what I think is the power. I think Carrie Ann Inaba said it right when she said (to Kelly), ‘Your secret weapon is your journey that has made you the fan favorite.’ We identify with her story. There are so many people with her body, her drug addiction, and being thrown into fame as a kid. … Third, we have had chemistry from day one. Honestly, you can say anything but it’s unpredictable. You never know what comes out of her mouth and you never know what comes out of my mouth. It makes for a fun practice.”

How are you preparing for the semi-finals?
“Circumstances changed it. Kelly had an obligation to go to New York. It turns out, we flew through the night on the red-eye, slept for two hours, then we go rehearse for six hours. It turns out to be the best thing that happened. There’s no distraction. We go from the hotel to the dance studio and it’s been great. I finished my quickstep the first day of rehearsals on Wednesdays and the quickstep is the fastest one of the ballroom dancing. We are only allowed to be open in the beginning and at the very end, everything is in a closed hold. She’s [Kelly] very driven, determined. Now she feels she can do it.”

What does your competition have going for them?
Another big reason we made it to the semi-finals is we only focused on us, and our dances. That’s how I became World Champion, by not focusing on beating other people. Having said that, Joanna Krupa is the other [contestant] with no athletic experience or dance training, [so there's] a little of the underdog position but not as much as Kelly. Kelly only came out of rehab in March. Donny [Osmond] is a pure entertainer. We don’t know how big Donny’s fan base is. He’s the entertainer. Mya is the best dancer of the lot but her personality is the least of all four. She’s into her own world, almost shy. Some people think she’s stuck-up but she’s not like that, she’s just not one of those that’s so outgoing. This is interesting. It’s very diverse. You’ve got two females, Joanna with the best body, Kelly is catching up — most changing body, Mya, the best dancer, and then Donny, the best entertainer. Who has the best attributes? Who says the right thing at the right time? Which couple has the most chemistry? I’d like to say we do but you never know what the audience thinks, so we’ll see.”