'I started dancing here when I was two - and loved it so much I ended up running the academy!'
She is the pupil who loved the Walsall Academy of Dance school so much she eventually became principal having first danced there as a two-year-old.
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And Christa Collard credits founder Diane Millard as the catalyst for the success and longevity of the academy, which is this year celebrating 60 golden years.
Sprightly Diane started the academy in 1964 in a former pub – the Butts Inn – and still dons her dance shoes after recently turning 80.
Christa first started as a pupil in 1982 and Diane and other teachers helped her go on to a glittering career in dance which has encompassed ballet, contemporary, modern and tap.
