Interview 2002 - Sergey Ryupin and Elena Khvorova

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Elena: I come from Omsk, a small town in Siberia. I started dancing at the age of 9, but prior to that I was training artistic gymnastics. I initially started Ballroom and Latin and I had a few different partners then.

Sergey: I come from Surgut, also a Siberian town. I was 13 when I started dancing, so as you see I was not that young. /laugh/ And I did not have that many partners as Elena, only two.

Eva: You call 13 "not that young". Do you think it really makes a difference whether you start at say 7 or 13?

Sergey: I think it does. The earlier the better. Dancing is such a competitive discipline these days that every year counts. I am not saying that it is impossible to catch up later if you are committed, but I do think that the later you start the harder it is.

Sergey: Always 100% focused. This is what we do and what we are made of. Never had any doubts about it. I do not see anything else we would like to do instead.

Eva: So you live in Moscow now, and I gather this is where you train as well...

Elena: Yes, we are training at the Russian Dance Club in Moscow, although we also travel a lot and train in London too. When in London we especially enjoy going to Dance Options Cheam and Semley Dance studio.

Eva: Do you also have coaches in both these countries?

Sergey: Yes, we do. Our main coaches in Moscow are Victor Nikovsky and Larissa Davidova, in England - Tone Nyhagen and Donnie Burns. We also work with Alan and Hazel Fletcher, Michael Stylianos, Lorraine and Peter Maxwell.

Eva: It must physically demanding to perform all five Latin American dances one after the other at this level. How do you train for that?

Sergey: Yes, it is physically demanding. Our training is fairly flexible, we train on average for 3 hours a day. We try to practice every day, if possible but we do have days without training too. Our practice has to involve a mental element, running your routines around is not good enough no matter how much you do it. You always have to have a vision of what you are trying to achieve, otherwise you will not achieve anything.

Eva: Is dancing itself enough to prepare you for that or do you have to do any other form of training regime?

Elena: We also go to a gym together, approx 3-4 times per week. This is to tone up our bodies and build up strength and stamina.

Eva: So with all these training you have to do, is there any time left to go out and enjoy what the rest of us do?

Sergey: Yes, sometimes we do go and eat out. We are not on a permanent diet. /laugh/ We enjoy Italian and Chinese food and also Russian home cooking.

Eva: Is it important for a couple to have role models?

Sergey: Yes, it is important to have role models at some stage, but later on, I think, a couple can develop themselves. It then becomes more important to have your own personality and not to become a copy of anyone else.

Eva: So who are, or were, your role models?

Elena: Probably Donnie and Gaynor more than anyone else, but we are now concentrating on creating our own, unique personality.

Elena: I think I would go for the audience. At the end of the day the result is not everything...

Eva: Can you actually feel the audience reaction when you are dancing?

Elena: Oh, yes! Definitely. We always feel if they are looking at us or other couples. I can not describe how, maybe it's a sixth sense? The energy coming from the crowd is what keeps us going, after all this is what we are doing it for. And it feels better and better from round to round when the temperature rises and audience reaction becomes more and more. We love it!

Eva: And how about the judges? Do you also feel when they are watching you?

Sergey: Yeah.... but we try not to think about it.

Eva: What do you think about dancing as an Olympic discipline? Would it be right or wrong?

Sergey: I do not know if it would change anything...

Eva: It would certainly bring a bigger audience...

Sergey: Yes, but only once every 4 years. Besides all the mixed nationality couples, who make up more than half of the dance population at the top end would be excluded, so how representative would it be anyway?

When we were amateurs we were told we looked more like pros. So we decided to turn. At first it was a very new feeling, no form at all. We enjoyed it. We certainly do not regret it now! /laugh/ But I have to say the higher you go, the harder it is to improve..

Eva: I watched you dancing many times and I would like to compliment Elena on your choice of outfits. Virtually all of them were nothing less than superb. Almost every time you seem to have one of the best dresses on the floor. Who designs/makes them?

Elena: Thank you! I have a girl in Moscow who helps me with the costumes. Her name is Tatiana Birioukova and she is a dancer herself too. She made almost all my dresses. We normally design them together and then she makes them. Sometimes in the process the ideas change and we end up with something completely different than originally designed, but that's the fun of it. But she knows very well what I like and she has never made me a bad dress.

Eva: Do you believe changing during the competition can help the result? Some girls seem to have endless supply of the dresses and change them almost every time they appear on the floor.

Elena: If it makes them feel good, why not? I usually keep 2-3 dresses at the time.

Eva: And how about you, Sergey? Are you also fashion conscious?

Sergey: Oh, I do not think I am so important here. /laugh/ I like simple things. But I also have my tailor in Moscow. His name is Dmitri Antoniuk.

Sergey: Yes, we used to do that until only a year ago, but it is very hard. Now we have two sponsors: Supadance for shoes and Tumenaviatrans for travel expenses

Eva: How long, in your opinion, can a couple of your calibre can keep competing? Is there any age limit beyond which it can't get any better?

Sergey: Oh, it depends on so many things. But I think, if you are prepared to make sacrifices you can dance pretty long, do not forget Donnie and Gaynor were in their forties when they won the Professional Latin World Championship!

Eva: Let me ask you a more difficult question now: If one of you, theoretically speaking, suddenly decided to retire or could not keep it going for whatever reason, would the other one take it up again with another partner?

Sergey: Hmmm... I really do not know, depends on the circumstances....

Elena: Yes, this is a very difficult question, I think we would try to find other partners, but I also think that would be very hard, so I really do not know...

Eva: Thank you very much for talking to me. I wish you the best of luck in your future career.

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