Jeremy Beck (18) has gained a place in the New Zealand School of Dance and will begin a two-year, full-time course in Wellington next year.
"I'm really looking forward to it," the former Kavanagh College pupil said yesterday.
"I like the athleticism and freedom of it and just enjoy dancing, to be honest. I've always danced, ever since I started jazz when I was 5.
"I always wanted to be like Michael Jackson. But ballet dancing is quite a short career, because your body quickly wears out."
Beck has been training at the Bennett School of Ballet and Jazz for the past five years.
School owner Shona Bennett yesterday said Beck had "a lot of natural talent and drive".
"He's very determined and he knows it's what he wants to follow." Beck was also accepted for the Western Australian Conservatoire of Classical Ballet, in Perth, but has opted to train at the NZSD.
"It's very hard to get into and it's really unusual to be accepted for both," Mrs Bennett said.
The Bennett School of Ballet and Jazz had about 17 male dancers aged 5-18, she said.
