Ballarat dancer Sam Holzberger is taking one step closer to achieving his dream of dancing with the Australian Ballet.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The 13-year-old has been accepted to attend the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School in Melbourne next year.
Sam submitted a video audition as part of his application for a place at the school and received an acceptance email last week.
"After I finished getting ready out of the shower mum and dad tricked me looking sad saying they got an email about school, then they handed it to me and I was just so excited," he said.
Sam will travel to Melbourne on the train each day to attend school next year. He will dance every day in addition to completing other school subjects.
Mum Karryn Holzberger said Sam was already busy planning what he needed to prepare for school and for the early start he will have to make each day.
Sam will move into Year 9 next year after completing Year 7 and Year 8 at Mount Rowan Secondary College.
Sam said he most looked forward to being able to improve his dancing and hear advice from new teachers.
"I think I am most looking forward to being able to really focus in on dance, get better at it and hear different opinions and have new experiences," he said.
"I think this will be really important for the future and hopefully having a career in dance."
RELATED COVERAGE: Online lessons with Australian Ballet star help Sam follow his dream
Sam has been learning dance through the Ballarat Centre of Music and the Arts since he was seven and has continued dancing five or six days a week through online lessons amid the coronavirus pandemic.
BCMA connected Sam with former Ballarat boy and Australian Ballet soloist Callum Linnane for online lessons during term three.
Ms Holzberger said she was grateful for the support Sam had received from BCMA this year.
"He has had a great start with BCMA, Paula and the teachers there have been amazing, but this is a huge step into what he wants to do," she said.
"Once he is down there and he is mixing with the people in his craft, the world is his oyster then. He can audition for other places if he chooses to and he will meet like minded people.
"It is the beginning."
VCAS combines specialist training in dance, theatre, music and visual art with an academic program for students.
Have you signed up to The Courier's variety of news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in Ballarat.