On December 20, 1989, Christopher Tanev was born in East York, Toronto, Canada, to parents Mike Tanev and Sophie Meredith Tanner. According to his nationality, he is Canadian and belongs to the white ethnic group. His father is Bulgarian and his mother is Canadian of Scottish descent. He has two siblings: a sister named Alexa; and a brother named Kolya. Christopher began dancing at the age of three years and a half when his father signed him up for classes. He continued training throughout his childhood and by the time he was ten years old, he was already taking part in competitions. At thirteen years old, Chris won the title of "Junior Champion" at the World Youth Dance Festival in Ireland. A few months later, he became the "Young Dancer of the Year" at the Canadian National Dance Awards ceremony held in Montreal. In 1990, at the age of fourteen, he joined Ballet Balyana on a full-time basis. The same year, he was invited by Mikhail Baryshnikov to join his company as one of its principal dancers. However, due to financial difficulties, Baryshnikov had to cancel their contract, so Christopher returned to Canada and joined Les Grands Ballets Canadiens.