A SALE pensioner has achieved the rare feat of completing every Latin American and ballroom dance award it is possible to do.


Christine Royle, 73, said she was very pleased but surprised to have reached the milestone and said it’s something that has ‘just kind of happened as I’ve gone along’.


The former high school teacher’s achievement is all the more impressive considering that, while in her 30s, she suffered a blood clot in her leg which temporarily caused her to become paralysed on her left side.


“That’s why I’ve kept active since then, I didn’t even want that to happen to me again,” said Christine.


The Northenden Road resident teaches eight yoga classes a week and has had a weekly private lesson at Cadmans Dance Studio, in Sale, for the past 20 years.


Christine paid tribute to Cadmans principal, Wayne Newhouse, who has taught her for two decades.


“He’s been a marvellous teacher, very patient with me and he was only a lad when I first started going to him, I think I was one of his first customers,” said the grandmother of six.


And Wayne is equally full of admiration for his longest-serving pupils.


“It’s unusual in two ways, first of all it’s very unusual for someone to take them all, I haven’t even done them all myself.


“People tend to get so far and then obviously you move on, you get married or whatever, something comes up and you leave it.


“But Christine has managed to do them and I think it’s a marvellous achievement, it’s really great that she’s set a goal and she’s achieved it.”


Although Christine may have achieved the goal she set 20 years ago, she has vowed to keep dancing and will now take a yearly certificate ‘just to keep myself going’.