NICOLE Read always knew she wanted to become a dance teacher.

Four years ago, she made that dream a reality when she set up her own dance school in Newport, aged just 20.

A dancer from a young age, she hopped across the bridge to study at Filton College's acclaimed dance course, and passed with a distinction. 

Fast forward to today, the 24-year-old is running one of Newport’s most popular dance schools.

The Diva Dance Academy has more than 50 aspiring dancers on their books, and with plenty of talent on show, they’ve taken part in dance competitions right across the country.

South Wales Argus: The Diva Dancers before rehearsals. The Diva Dancers before rehearsals.

The school recently achieved its first championship dancer – courtesy of nine-year-old Laila Yunus.

And all the hard-work and training happens above the Docks Conservative Club in Pill – one of the area’s oldest pubs, just a stone’s throw from where Ms Read grew up.

“I started in Pill, and we’re still in Pill,” Ms Read told the Argus.

“We rehearse four times a week with the girls – our youngest dancer is two and our oldest is 18.

“But we take them all over the country to compete and it’s brilliant that we’ve got our very first championship dancer in nine-year-old Laila.

South Wales Argus: Nine-year-old Laila is the academy's first championship dancer.Nine-year-old Laila is the academy's first championship dancer.

“It gives the girls an ambition and their dedication is just amazing. It also helps keep them off the streets.”

Ms Read spent thousands on renovating the function room above the Docks Conservative Club on Pottery Terrace to turn it into a space fit for dance rehearsals.

The group put in a huge fundraising effort and also received donations from local businesses in Pill which helped get the academy to where it is today.

“Everything we do is for the children,” Ms Read added.

“We’ve never received any kind of grant funding – all their uniforms that you see them wearing we’ve fundraised for. We don’t ask the parents to pay anything towards it.

“I try and help the kids out as much as I can – I even pick some of them up from school to bring them to the classes."

South Wales Argus: Nicole Read in the function room above the Docks Conservative Club in Pill before it was renovated. (Picture: Chris Tinsley)Nicole Read in the function room above the Docks Conservative Club in Pill before it was renovated. (Picture: Chris Tinsley)

Born and bred in Pill, Ms Read knows all too well the challenges facing the area at the moment, but like many others, she’s determined to change the picture.

“We’ve got big issues with prostitution and drug dealings around Pill at the moment,” she said.

“But there’s so much good going on in the wider community that people just don’t see. The reputation of the frontline [Commercial Road] affects the whole of Pill.”

Ms Read has recently set up a new balloon business in Pill and was offered the workshop space by a neighbour.

“They offered it to me for a very good price, which was great," she said. "It just shows that there’s a good community of people here who want to help each other out.”

With the dance academy going from strength to strength, Ms Read hasn’t ruled out expanding further if they get more youngsters to join up.

“Of course, we’d love to get more boys involved,” she said.

“But there’s a bit of a stigma existing in the area around that, so we understand that can be difficult.

South Wales Argus: The dance school is run above one of Pill's oldest pubs. The dance school is run above one of Pill's oldest pubs.

“We were looking to see if we could use a building known as the ‘Pill Box’ that’s been sitting empty for a while. But when we enquired, we were told there were plans in place for the building.

“It’s frustrating when there’s people here with good ideas to help the area and it feels like it gets thrown back in our faces sometimes.”

But moving away from the Docks Conservative Club wouldn't be easy for Ms Read, whose family have a long association with the building. 

"It's funny because my nan used to work in the bar downstairs and my parents still live nearby.

“I just want to give back to the area that I grew up in and show that there are good people here doing good things.” 

This is part of a series of 'Newport: Our City' articles looking at what makes Newport a special place to live, and what lies in store for the city in the future.