Izabela Hannah is a Polish

Poles

thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...

-born British ballroom

Ballroom dance

Ballroom dance refers to a set of partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world. Because of its performance and entertainment aspects, ballroom dance is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and television....

 and Latin American dancer. Born in Szczecin

Szczecin

Szczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....

, Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

, in 1976, Hannah began dancing jazz

Jazz dance

Jazz dance is a classification shared by a broad range of dance styles. Before the 1950s, jazz dance referred to dance styles that originated from African American vernacular dance. In the 1950s, a new genre of jazz dance—modern jazz dance—emerged, with roots in Caribbean traditional dance...

 and ballet

Ballet

Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...

 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

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, 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 TV talent show

Talent show

A talent show is an event where participants perform their talent or talents of acting, singing, dancing, acrobatics, drumming, martial arts, playing an instrument, and other activities to showcase a unique form of talent, sometimes for a reward, trophy or prize...

 Strictly Come Dancing

Strictly Come Dancing (series 3)

The third series of Strictly Come Dancing started on 15 October 2005 and ended on 17 December 2005. It was presented by Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly, and the winner was Darren Gough along with his dancing partner Lilia Kopylova.-The show:...

, partnered with former snooker

Snooker

Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...

 world champion Dennis Taylor

Dennis Taylor

Dennis Taylor is a retired snooker player, and current BBC snooker commentator. Winner of two ranking events, he is best known for winning the 1985 World Championship, beating World number one Steve Davis on the final black in one of the sport's most memorable finals...

. 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

Brendan Cole is a ballroom dancer specialising in Latin American dancing. He is most famous for appearing on the BBC show Strictly Come Dancing, a dance contest in which a professional ballroom dancer is partnered with a celebrity amateur dancer...

's UK tour 'Live and Unjudged'.