Yamaguchi, Lopez, et al. Host 'Ballroom with a Twist' in 14 City Tour, Launches 7/14

Kristi Yamaguchi, Gilles Marini, Evan Lysacek, Mario Lopez and Sabrina Bryan will serve as rotating hosts for this highly anticipated production of Ballroom with a Twist, a brilliant new dance production conceived and choreographed by EMMY® Award nominated Louis van Amstel, a five-time Dancing With the Stars pro. Ballroom boasts an amazing ensemble including dancers from "So you think you can dance," "High School Musical - The Movie," "Dance Your Ass Off" and "Dancing With The Stars" dance pros such as Mark Ballas, Cheryl Burke, Jonathan Roberts & Anna Trebunskaya, as well "American Idol" finalists from season seven, David Hernandez, and season two, Trenyce, who provide exciting live vocals. This ground-breaking show pushes the boundaries of ballroom dance, infusing it with energy and the intensity of the classic ballroom and the latest authentic, hip-hop and Broadway styles.

"Ballroom with a Twist" is an extravagant evening of entertainment for the entire family, highlighted by stunning costumes, magnificent music and breathtaking performances. "The costumes are pretty much what you see on 'Dancing With the Stars,'" says van Amstel. "They're young, they're hot, they're in the best shape of their lives." Van Amstel knows how to get people to move but wants to move the audience. "What I want people to take home with them is that they're being touched," he says. "That they're being moved by something beautiful. We also have a little surprise for the audience. But I'm not going to tell you."

Tour dates are as follows:

July 14: 2010 Clayton Opera House, Clayton, NY
July 16: Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua NY 8:15pm
July 17: Hershey Theatre, Hershey PA 8pm
July 23: River Rock Casino, Richmond BC 8pm
Aug 12: Casino Nova Scotia 8pm
August 14: Motor City Casino 8pm
October 1 & 2: Calgary, AB - Southern Jubilee Auditorium
October 12: Calgary, AB - Southern Jubilee Auditorium
October 13: Edmonton, AB - Northern Jubilee Auditorium
October 14: Saskatoon, SK TCU Place Sid Buckwold Theatre
October 15: Regina, SK Evraz Place
October 17: Winnipeg, MB Centennial Concert Hall
October 18: Hamilton, ON - Copps Coliseum - www.hecfi.ca
October 19: Toronto, ON - Sony Centre for the Performing Arts

Tickets will be sold at the venues and through Ticketmaster.com.

Louis van Amstel, born in 1972 in Holland, is a professional dancer, EMMY® nominated choreographer, and a dancesport coach. He is a world championship ballroom dancer, and also known in American pop culture for partnering with celebrities Kelly Osborne, Priscilla Presley and Lisa Rinna in Dancing with the Stars. After retiring from professional ballroom competition, he moved on to choreography and production. He founded the company VanDance, LLC, and directed, produced, choreographed and performed in the Broadway show Latin Fusion. Louis has appeared on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and had a cameo role as himself on ABC's All My Children, where he taught two characters to ballroom dance.

Kristi Yamaguchi - Athlete, artist, wife, mother, philanthropist-in each of these things Kristi Yamaguchi embodies the word champion. Following her victories at the 1992 Winter Olympics and World Championships, Kristi embarked on a successful professional career that went non-stop for more than a decade. Her motto is "Always Dream," and Kristi's accomplishments prove that dreams can come true with hard work and dedication. Her achievements on the ice, in her personal life and in the realm of community service, all prove her consistent commitment to excellence. Yamaguchi's victory on the sixth season of ABC's Dancing with the Stars (the first woman since season one to claim the trophy) is another achievement in a career marked with golden success.

Gilles Marini - Perhaps best known as Luc Laurent on ABC's hit family drama, Brothers & Sisters as well as his second-place finish on season eight of Dancing with the Stars, Marini found himself in the international spotlight after appearing in what some have called the second greatest shower scene in film history in 2008's Sex and the City: The Movie. While recent film credits include One and the Other (L'Une et L'Autre) and The Boys & Girls Guide to Getting Down, television audiences have seen him in primetime series such as Nip/Tuck, Ugly Betty, Criminal Minds and Windfall as well as the daytime dramas The Bold and the Beautiful and Passions. Marini was named one of People Magazine's top ten Sexiest Men Alive for 2009.

Evan Lysacek - A 2010 Olympic Gold Medalist and 2009 World Figure Skating Champion, Evan has become one of the most successful American male skaters of his generation. His gold-medal victory in Vancouver was the first for an American male at the Olympics in 22 years. Evan has been skating since he was 8 when he received a pair of hockey skates, but soon discovered a passion for figure skating and is glad he made the switch. A native of Naperville, IL, Evan relocated to Los Angeles at the age of 18 to train with Frank Carroll. The renowned coach of numerous Olympic medalists guided Evan, not only to the Olympic and World titles but also to two U.S. Championships and a fourth-place showing at the Winter Olympics in Torino in 2006. Evan recently came in 2nd place on Season 10 of ABC's top-rated show, Dancing with the Stars.

Mario Lopez - getting his start dancing on the youth-oriented variety show Kids Incorporated, Mario Lopez became a teen idol as a girl-crazy jock on the Saturday-morning series Saved by the Bell. He then reinvented himself in the 2000s as an emcee, hosting series such as the male talk-show answer to The View, The Other Half, as well as specials like Miss Teen USA. In 2006, the dimpled hunk enjoyed a huge boost in popularity when he was named runner-up in the third edition of the reality competition Dancing With the Stars. A few months later, Lopez joined Extra as a correspondent and weekend co-host, but he was quickly promoted to sole host of the weekday episodes in 2008. Lopez devotes much of his time to fitness and has released books sharing his fitness and nutrition tips.

Sabrina Bryan - a member of the multi-platinum recording act, The Cheetah Girls, as well as a star of the hugely successful Disney Channel movie franchise of the same name. In addition, she famously garnered the earliest perfect 30 score in Dancing With the Stars history in Fall of 2007 when she starred on the show. One of Sabrina's solo projects is the fitness-dance DVD called BYOU, on which Sabrina was the star and co-producer. BYOU was created so girls could have fun learning cool, hip dance moves and get fit at the same time. BYOU was released in early 2006 and has sold more than double-platinum. Sabrina performs three solo tracks on the soundtrack and her song "Byou" was on the Radio Disney Top 30 chart and was also featured on the Disney Records "Move It" compilation CD.

Cheryl Burke - With over 18 years dancing experience and several championship titles under her belt, professional dancer Cheryl Burke, has tangoed and sambaed her way into the hearts of millions through the hit ABC television show Dancing with the Stars. By the age of 13, Cheryl was traveling and competing throughout the world, later moving on to win several championships including 2005 Ohio Star Ball Rising Star Champion, 2005 San Francisco Open Latin Champion, 2005 World Cup Professional Rising Star Latin Champion, several UK Championships, and a fourth place showing in the U.S. "Under 21's" division.

Mark Ballas - The Junior Olympics Gold Medal Winner and US Open to the World, British Open to the World and International Open to the World Junior Latin American Champ, Mark joined the DWTS in Season 5. As an actor, Mark has played the lead in the musical Copacabana. He also took on roles in the UK tour of Maria de Buenos Aires, and was an understudy in the London Palladium production of The Buddy Holly Musical. Plus, maybe you caught his guest star appearance on the 2008 season premiere of Samantha Who? When he's not dancing, Mark rocks out with Derek in their band Ballas Hough Band. Their first studio album, BHB, was released in March 2009. Mark is currently pursuing his solo career and is planning to launch his solo album this spring.

The husband and wife team of Jonathan Roberts and Anna Trebunskaya have been a part of DWTS since its debut in 2005. They are both professional ballroom dancers that teach celebrities how to dance. Together, Jonathan and Anna have achieved many high placements in competitions around the world and currently rank 6th in the US and 24th in the world. Jonathan started dancing at the age of 20. Coming from a big sports background in high school (namely basketball), it was as much of a shock to Jonathan as it was to his family and friends when he discovered a passion for ballroom dancing. Jonathan went to see the Al Pacino movie Scent of a Woman and there was something about the famous tango scene that struck a chord. He took advantage of the free ballroom lessons offered on his movie ticket stub, and the rest is history. Anna began dancing at the age of seven in her native Russia. Her parents owned a dance studio, so it was only natural that Anna took to dancing from an early age. At the age of seven she entered her first competition, which she won, and she has been winning titles (first amateur and now professional) ever since. Trebunskaya moved to the United States with her parents when she was 17 years old. Both her mother and father were professional ballroom dancers, and her mother still makes her costumes today.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.

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