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With the exciting launch of the much anticipated Carmen for Chrisanne Clover dancewear collection, we chat to Carmen about her experience working with the team, her fond memories of the dancewear she wore and the advice she was given and can share with us from her competitive career … |
What inspired you to create your own dancewear collection?
The inspiration was Ronnie Li, the managing director at Chrisanne Clover lol. I hadn’t thought about it before … Ronnie approached myself and Bryan and wanted us to create something in particular that was menswear focused but, launching collections as a couple with a menswear and a womenswear collection came to light. I never saw myself as a designer as such but I love shopping and fashion, I am very much into it so we thought why not!
Why did you choose to work with Chrisanne Clover?
Personally, I have a lovely history with Chrisanne Clover as I used to be sponsored by Chrisanne when I competed many years ago. I have known Giles and Alison for many years and in fact Alison used to do my fittings for my dresses back then, so it was lovely to work with her again on the fittings with this collection. With Ronnie - myself and Bryan got to know him on a social level for a few years now and I have also been involved with the Chrisanne Clover fashion catwalk at the Blackpool Dance Festival. When collaborating and brainstorming ideas for this collection there was no catalogue of do’s and don’ts, the team at Chrisanne Clover purely allowed me to explore and put our ideas together. The whole process was very enjoyable and really exciting.
What’s been your main inspiration behind the collection?
I love the art deco period, I am very much attached to the 1920’s/30’s. I should have lived then really lol. That is my era, my favourite look is the fringe dress with a bob, that is very me. And black! I was the first one to ever wear a bob on the competition floor. I wanted to look like Louise Brookes from the 1920’s and that inspired the creative feel to this collection.
When creating this collection it was always would I wear that, in essence I think I am a very classic person, for sure the comfort needs to be part of the movement but look good, a collaboration of many things and in the end when it came to it with the model fittings, I decided actually it is not enough to see it , I need to wear it and feel it on. Although I am not dancing anymore I still know how it should feel, and thought yeh this is me (excluding the crop top lol although knowing when I was 20 I would wear it), it’s me, it’s comfortable, elegant its classical it ticks all my boxes.
How was the experience of working with the design & production teams and Chrisanne Clover?
Only good things for me. The positivity and flexibility has been amazing, nothing I said was a negative. It was never a no to my ideas or feedback. For me it was never a hassle coming in and it has been a proper collaboration. Every person we worked with was utterly professional and a joy to work with.
What was your go-to practice wear look during your own competitive career?
Always black lol. For me I wore one particular practice skirt for 8 years, in the end I had to try and copy it but it was never the same, it lost its spark. It was comfort.
Looking back it was very strange back in our days when we were dancing, you couldn’t buy dancewear and practicewear like you can now. I used to go to Topshop and H&M and buy stuff I liked, then cut it up in a way that made them danceable. It was really street fashion. You were much more creative and individual.
Have you had any dress horrors?
Yes loads! I remember I had one dress that when it arrived I thought it looked hideous. Bryan convinced me to wear it for a show, so I did and when I got off the floor he was laughing his head off saying he never thought I would do it!
When you were competing do you think people were more individual?
Yes definitely. Everything now is much better than it used to be in the sense of availability. Everything is available instantly now. I can watch the competition live from my home or watch on you tube. On the flip coin when I was younger my teacher said I was not allowed to go to Blackpool as I was not good enough, but when my teacher came back I was like wow now tell me what it was like?! He would explain to me how the dancers danced, what they did how they dressed, of course I had no visual so I had to use my imagination and would think yes I am going to try that, of course my imagination was very stimulated all the time because I didn’t have a saturated picture of the end product. So I was given technique and correctness of foot positioning, but anything to do with styling, interpretation and individualism it was absolutely left to our own imagination. Unless you were there you were not able to see it and you were relying on people explaining it to you. But it is the same when you read a book and then watch a movie, it is very different. In some ways instant availability is a shame and creativity is lost. Everything has been done before, there is a loss of fantasy and imagination. It was more individual and more experimental and a bit more fearless.
When you started out what was the main aspect of your dancing which you focused on the most?
When myself and Bryan started out dancing together, of course he was in front of me result wise but we were both finalists. We met at the later stage of our career. It is very different if you meet at the beginning and grow up together, we had many similar teachers but our journeys were different. We were established dancers towards the later part of our career and although we had the same teachers … our journeys were very different and we needed to find some sort of common ground that we could hook on and it was difficult. It was like what are you doing? I don’t know what are you doing lol!
I danced competitively for 17 years, I started competing when I was 17 and retired when I was 34, so nowadays that is quite short and I never did junior competitions.
When we got together, we knew each other anyway but it wasn’t the case of he is the best dancer for you, I generally liked him as a person. There was a personal and mental connection that was more than he is the right physique for you. We fought like cat and dog daily most of the time lol!
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
One for sure was I can be individual, and I can be Carmen, even though I was to obey the basics and foundations of the dance, I was very encouraged that I could be myself and develop myself. Bryan’s favourite dance is the jive and that I don’t have to compete with that, I don’t have to struggle. I can find my own niche within the energy. I felt it was very liberating. He allowed me not to stereotype myself.
What dance did you enjoy performing the most?
For me it was the Rumba
How should today’s dancers evolve to take the Latin American genre to the next level?
Go back to the future. It is so forward, forward, forward that it can loose the authenticity of the dance. We should be proud of our craft and study it. It is finding a balance. Don’t forget the building blocks and foundations, take what you are such as pop culture, but incorporate it to make the dance authentic and personal with personality.
I was the first one to ever wear a bob on the dancefloor. I wanted to look like Louise Brookes from the 1920’s and people were like NO don’t do it! When I came to Blackpool with a bob I was made to gel it down, I did but the next time I thought no off it goes. It was not acceptable at first … but then it was. It was like Bryan with a polo neck, people were like no you must wear a shirt with stones! Don’t forget to be yourself.
