Darcey Andrea Bussell CBE (born Darcey Andrea Crittle on 27 April 1969) is a retired English ballerina. Trained at the Arts Educational School and the Royal Ballet School, she was employed by The Royal Ballet, where she became a principal dancer at just 20 years old in 1989, and is acclaimed as one of the greatest British ballerinas of all time. She performed as a guest artist with many leading ballet companies around the world and, since retiring from professional ballet in 2007, has continued to be very active in the world of dance. In 2012 Bussell replaced Alesha Dixon on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing judging panel. In 2012 she became the President of the Royal Academy of Dance. She is the Patron of the Sydney Dance Company and President of the Birmingham Royal Ballet's fund raising appeal. She is a patron of the International Dance Teachers Association, Ceccetti UK, Ceccetti Australia, Dance Teachers Benevolent Fund UK, New English Ballet Theatre, the New Zealand School of Dance and the medical charities : The Henry Spink Foundation, Bourne and Sight For All. She is on the board of the Margot Fonteyn Foundation.