'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.
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Sprightly Diane started the academy in 1964 in a former pub – the Butts Inn – and still dons her dance shoes after recently turning 80.
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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.