Unitis is a non-profit educational organization helping to shape schools, students & teachers
Healing Through Movement.
Changing Lives Through Connection.
Technology & Innovation
Partnering with Local Communities
Utilizing and adapting technologies familiar to the developed world, we can provide teachers, parents, and students with products and services to improve learning and decision-making.
By nurturing relationships with likeminded organizations and private individuals, we're able to unlock new sources of capital and scale up our work far beyond what traditional funding can do alone.
Every class we lead and every instructor we certify is part of a bigger mission — to help people recover from trauma, rebuild their health, and step into new careers that create ripples of hope in their communities.
Finance & Investing
To make a lasting impact, we know that we must actively engage and include the communities we are seeking to help. We are continually learning and growing in how we show up as an authentic, ethical partner.
Who We Are
Louis Van Amstel
Co-Founder & Lead Program Architect
Louis Van Amstel is a three-time World Dance Champion, Emmy-nominated choreographer, and one of the most recognizable professional dancers from Dancing with the Stars, where he dazzled audiences across nine seasons. Beyond his television fame, Louis has choreographed for Broadway, headlined international tours, and trained elite performers and everyday people alike — proving that dance is for everyone.
As the creator of LaBlast®, Louis took his decades of competitive ballroom mastery and turned it into a groundbreaking dance fitness program that merges artistry, athleticism, and accessibility. His vision: to make dance a joyful, judgment-free space where every participant feels seen, capable, and transformed.
Through his partnership with Founder Coco Shelburne, Louis has expanded LaBlast’s reach to those who need it most — survivors of trauma, first responders, foster youth, trafficking survivors, and beyond. His role at Dance Outside the Box is more than lending his name; he brings the creative heartbeat of the program, personally shaping how dance is delivered as a powerful, science-backed tool for healing, resilience, and career empowerment.
CoCo Shelburne
Founder & Executive Director, Dance Outside the Box
CoCo Shelburne is the visionary behind Dance Outside the Box, a nonprofit born from her lifelong passion for dance, fitness, and transformational healing. A former competitive dancer and seasoned executive in global businesses, Coco experienced firsthand the profound, science-backed benefits of movement in reducing PTSD, trauma, and chronic stress.
Recognizing the potential of Louis van Amstel’s LaBlast® program to change lives far beyond the ballroom, Coco approached Louis with a bold concept: a nonprofit that would not only bring this specialized dance fitness to survivors of violence, first responders, foster youth, trafficking survivors, and more — but also create career pathways for those rebuilding their lives through fitness certification. Under her leadership, Dance Outside the Box is both a healing space and an economic lifeline, where participants recover, reimagine their future, and go on to heal others.
louis@danceoutsidethebox.org
coco@danceoutsidethebox.org
