After dancing for a decade, she is about to take the next step - making her passion her career.
Ms Balloch (18) has been accepted for the two-year, full-time dance course at Jason Coleman's Ministry of Dance in Melbourne next year.
Raised in Balclutha and educated at St Hilda's Collegiate School in Dunedin, Ms Balloch began tap-dancing at the relatively late age of 8.
She has danced in several musicals, including the Dunedin production of The Producers last year, and won many titles in dancing competitions.
She said yesterday, before boarding a plane to Melbourne, that until recently she had never been sure whether she was good enough to become a professional dancer.
"I didn't think I could make it a career. But doing well in competitions this year and being accepted for dance school makes me think I may as well give it a go. Now, I'm excited. I'm thinking big."
Ms Balloch left school at the end of last year and also left her loyal support team - mum Tania Bond, grandmother May Bond, teacher Denise Henderson and dressmaker and "second mum" Catherine Wedlake - to live with her father, Paul Balloch, in Melbourne.
Since then, she has been working to save money in anticipation of being accepted for a dance school and participating in dance competitions to improve her CV.
At the start of the year, she reached the finals of a contest on the Gold Coast.
In March, she returned to New Zealand to compete in the Taieri Competitions Society event, winning enough points to qualify for the National Young Performers Awards.
These were held in Invercargill at the weekend and Ms Balloch was delighted to win $3000 as runner-up from 42 competitors in the tap-dancing section.
Aucklander Simon Waits was first.
Ms Balloch said she was looking forward to her course, which covered all dance styles and produced versatile and employable dancers.
Dancer Jordan Mullin, now studying in Sydney, was the only other Dunedin finalist at the young performers awards.
She was named most promising dancer in the ballet section.
