Izabela Hannah is a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

-born

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

ballroom and

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...

dancer. Born in Szczecin,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, Hannah began dancing

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

and

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

at the age of 9, and started ballroom and Latin American dancing as a teenager. During her competitive career she won international titles in Europe and the United States, winning the Polish Amateur Ballroom Championships in 2001 and again in 2002. In 2005, Hannah appeared as a professional dancer in the third series of the British BBC TV

talent show A talent show is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather ...

'' Strictly Come Dancing'', partnered with former snooker world champion

Dennis Taylor Dennis Taylor (born 19 January 1949) is a Northern Irish retired professional snooker player and current commentator. He is best known for winning the 1985 World Snooker Championship, where he defeated the defending champion Steve Davis in a ...

. Described as "Strictly Come Dancing's very own odd couple", the pair survived five weeks in the competition. In 2009, Hannah joined other ''Strictly Come Dancing'' professionals on

Brendan Cole Brendan Cole (born 23 April 1976) is a New Zealand ballroom dancer, specialising in Latin American dancing. He is most famous for appearing as a professional dancer on the BBC One show, ''Strictly Come Dancing''. From 2005 to 2009, he was a j ...

's UK tour '''Live and Unjudged'''. Hannah married English businessman David Rai after appearing on the show in 2005, and has since built a successful Ballroom Dance Coaching and Wedding First Dance business in the UK. Through her dance school, Izabela Dance School Hannah offers Dance Classes and Private dance lessons in Ballroom, Latin-American and Salsa style in London, Richmond, Kingston and Surrey. Her clientele includes beginners, social dancers to high level competitors and professional couples. Hannah has also released a number of best selling Ballroom Dance Tutorial DVDs including WeddingFD - step by step Wedding First Dance programme and THE RUMBA - The Ultimate Dance Class. She also provides Ballroom and Latin-American demonstrations, Ballroom and Latin-American shows, lectures and judges Ballroom and Latin-American competitions around the world.

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* * * * Living people British ballroom dancers Polish ballroom dancers 1976 births Sportspeople from Szczecin British female dancers Polish female dancers Polish expatriates in England {{Poland-sport-bio-stub