Laith Sami was born on 25 October 1975 in Baghdad. When the Iraq/Iran war started in 1979, the family went on a trip to London and decided to stay there. Sami went to nursery school but after four years the family had to leave England so they chose Sweden to be their new home. At the age of 13 Sami discovered dance and after a year began teaching it.

He started teaching in a youth club and within a year his class grew from six to 150 students all aged between six and 18.

At the age of 17, and against everyone's advice that he was too old, he began gymnastics and by the age of 21 Sami and his gymnastics team became the Swedish team champions.

Still, it seemed that London was his destiny and at the age of 23 he moved back and studied acting for two years and began dancing Salsa. Sami took Salsa very seriously, performing and teaching in Europe, performing at the L.A. Congress and eventually creating the Diablo Dance Company.

Diablo Dance Company

The Dance Company is a showcase for his dynamic and innovative choreography, which blends the passion and energy of Salsa with the demanding body technique of Hop Hop and Jazz. Sami has brought together a talented team of the hottest up-and-coming dancers in London, each dancing Salsa with a unique style influenced by their respective backgrounds - Ballet, Jazz, Argentine Tango, Contemporary Dance, Imperial Ballroom & Latin American and even Martial Arts!

Sami taught and helped the dancers to develop their dancing to a higher level and Diablo became two-time Salsa Team Champions representing the UK. He went on to receive a Lifetime Salsa Achievement award in 2007.

Directing

During this time dance was not his only interest. Sami sparked a passion for directing film and TV. He wrote, produced and directed 'Land of The Apes The Musical' which ran at London's Riverside Studios and he has recently written the feature film Blood Dance. In addition he has directed two music videos and eight short films from Drama to Comedy to Horror to Dance, each very different from the other. Sami's love of acting, TV and film production led him to complete a City and Guilds diploma in Media Techniques, covering all aspects of production. He now has over 16 years experience working in television, theatre and dance. To date has appeared in 23 short films as an actor.

Sami is looking for new challenges and is excited by the prospect of transferring his acting, choreography and directing skills to television drama. Sami would make an ideal candidate for the scheme due to his strong visual sense, energetic personality, creativity, ability to make quick and clear directorial decisions and working as part of a team.