At Chrisanne Clover we are thrilled to welcome to the sponsor family Irina Cherepanova, a professional Ballroom dancer who has had huge competition success with partner Stanislav Zellanin. Here we catch up with Irina as we prepare her fittings for her next Ballroom dress…
When did you start dancing?
I started dancing when I was 8 years old and Stas started dancing when he was 6, but for him it was not serious because at 6 it is just fun dancing … from 8 I was already very serious lol ;)
How long have you been partners for?
We started dancing together when we were 12 so we have been dancing together for about 20 years
What got you into dancing?
Actually, this is a very interesting story because my Mum had a good friend whose son went to dance class and he needed a dance partner, so they asked me to go dancing and be his partner … but after 2 months he stopped dancing lol
What is your highest achievements in dance?
I think the biggest achievement is that we still dance together after all these years haha! However if you talk about recent achievements, it’s to become Vice World champions and Vice Champions at Internationals 2022. Another proud moment is this year’s World Super Stars in Tokyo because we did 4 unique shows and my dresses helped me to express myself in the best possible way … as a kid we watched all the world superstars on DVD and now we are there also, it is truly amazing!!
What is your favourite competition?
Actually, we both just love to compete so big or small – it doesn’t matter to us as long as we are on the dancefloor.
Why are you proud to be a CHRISANNE CLOVER sponsor?
When I was young I used to watch all the videos of the top dancers and be in awe of them wearing such amazing dresses, such as Joanne Bolton. A lot of those beautiful dresses worn were Chrisanne - so to now be dressed by Chrisanne Clover is really such an honour and a privilege.
(Our talented dressmaker Emma who is currently making Irina’s dresses actually made Joanne Bolton’s dresses too! )
What is your favourite Chrisanne Clover colour?
At the moment I love the colour spearmint > and cobalt >, to be honest the colours are so bold and bright that all the colours look spectacular – even the colour white > is so vivid it truly looks amazing!
What is your favourite piece of Chrisanne Clover Dancewear?
Emma trousers > they are very comfortable to dance in especially practicing for a showdance as sometimes you can get your foot stuck in the trousers, but with the cuffs it makes it very comfortable and convenient.
If you didn’t dance what do you think your career would be?
Dance lol! I don’t know maybe something related to the theatre or history …
What are your hobbies?
To be honest I don’t have a hobby as such but if I have the time it would probably be to go to see a show or a museum.
What do you do in your spare time to relax?
We love to travel and explore what the cities have to offer, recently we went to Paris and spent a lot of time checking out the museums Orsay and Louvre, we also enjoyed watching various shows but the most impressive was the opera at the Palais Garnier.
Do you have any advice to young dancers reading this?
Believe in yourself and never give up … Keep going and enjoy the process
You can watch Irina and Stansilav dance here >