Louis van Amstel thinks Maksim Chmerkovskiy said what “what most people are thinking” when he called out Dancing with the Stars newcomer Jan Ravnik’s lack of ballroom experience.
In an interview with Us Weekly, the veteran DWTS dancer, who competed on 11 seasons of the show, backed Chmerkovskiy’s recent comments about Ravnik, the incoming pro who was a backup dancer on Taylor Swift’s Eras tour.
“There was a little riff going on about Maks criticizing Jan,“ van Amstel said. “I have to agree, the content of what Maks was talking about, I totally agree. Jan has no ballroom dance experience. You can see it. He has no teaching experience, but he is a fantastic dancer and even better person.”
“Do I agree with Maks that Jan has no ballroom experience and no teaching experience in ballroom dancing? Yes,” van Amstel added. “And Maks always says what many people think. … You can disagree with him all you want, but he says what most people are thinking. People criticize Maks and attack him, and ultimately, the delivery could have been different. But Jan would have been stupid if he would have said no to Dancing With the Stars.”
On Oct. 24, Chmerkovskiy spoke on The Penthouse With Peta podcast to say that Ravnik, 30, had “no business being a pro on Dancing With the Stars.”
“There’s zero foundation technique, quality, understanding of the partnership,” the onetime mirrorball champion said. “It is absurd, and this is unreal how blind we have to be, and God forbid say what’s obviously there.”
Chmerkovskiy later issued a public apology to Ravnik, admitting that he had many shortcomings as a DWTS pro himself. He also expressed hope that Ranvik would meet with him in person.
“That was big of Maks to go on social media and invite Jan publicly to go for coffee, to talk it up,” van Amstel told Us Weekly.
Several DWTS Pros Defended Jan Ravnik’s Role on the Celebrity Ballroom Competition
Several other past DWTS dancers have defended Ravnik, who was partnered with Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Jen Affleck for his first season as a pro on the ABC ballroom show.
Just before Ravnik and Affleck were eliminated from the competition during the live DWTS Halloween episode, Derek Hough declared that Ravnik was having a “fantastic” first season as a pro dancer.
And during the Oct. 30 episode of her In the 4th Chair podcast, longtime DWTS pro Sharna Burgess said, “I feel like Jan has had a great first season. I think he’s learning how to teach a non-dancer how to dance.”
“It is so very different to teaching people [who are] already studying dance and working on those things,” she added, before revealing how much “pressure” it is to create a routine from start to finish in one week. “I think he did a really good job at handling it,” she added of Ravnik. “I think he’s probably learned a lot on how to teach absolute beginners in the realm of Dancing With the Stars because it is its own pocket and its own bubble.”
This story was originally reported by Parade on Nov 1, 2025, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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