Marc Cassidy was 10 years old when he started taking ballet lessons with his mother in Clyde.
He later trained with Clyde ballet teacher Beverly Dowling.
"They both had a lot of input early on. I don't really know why I got started. It just felt like the right thing to do and I'd always enjoyed theatre," he says.
"When I'm on stage dancing and it works, it's one of the only places I have complete control. It feels so right when everything comes together. It's electric."
By 15, he was studying ballet in Christchurch.
"There comes a point that you have to be pushed. About 16, I started taking it seriously," he says.
"Then I left Christchurch and went to study full-time at the Australian Ballet School in Melbourne. Their aim is to make you a professional dancer."
He is now a senior artist dancing full-time with the Australian Ballet.
Cassidy (33) grew up in Clyde, attending Clyde Primary School and Dunstan High School.
So, it must have been fun growing up in Southern Man Central Otago as a male ballet dancer, then?"In my mind, I was worried about people's reactions," he recalls.
"As a boy, doing something like that I was one of very few. But, it was quite nice being surrounded by girls and I enjoyed the athletic aspect of it. Although, I was a bit intimidated by the girls in those days."
He is bemused by anyone who still regards male ballet dancers as curiosities.
"I don't think those attitudes really happen any more and it's good society has moved on. I think these things are cyclical, in a way. If I'd come through two years earlier or later it might have been more difficult. But, it just wasn't a big deal. There were people doing well at all sorts of other things, like figure skating, at the time."
Central Otago has a long history of rolling out gifted athletes in a myriad of disciplines.
And they breed them tough.
"Ballet is incredibly physical. Dancing is a discipline just like any other athletic activity. If ballet was wussy, I wouldn't have had knee surgeries and ankle surgeries," Cassidy says.
"I've had surgery on my right ankle to remove bone growths, microsurgery on a leg muscle, the cartilage removed from my left knee and I still have injections in my right knee. I also had a 10-month rehabilitation after I injured an adductor tendon. It's no wonder doctors like dancers," he says, laughing.
"Up until three years ago, I had no issues with my knees whatsoever. But, as you get older ..."
He is unsure what career he would have pursued had he not discovered ballet.
"I'm really into motorbikes and skiing, so I'd probably have gone down one of those routes. I enjoy things that have a physical aspect," he says.
"For me, there's still lots to do, though. I'd like to try a business of some sort, one day. There's so many opportunities out there. But, it's about finding something that I'm passionate about. I might leave this career and find I miss it."
Cassidy comes from a sporting family. His brother, Peter, is a professional golfer in Palmerston North.
Sister Leeza-Jane Smith spoils things a bit, running the Cromwell Twin Rivers Motel.
But, tonight's show will be particularly exciting for Leeza-Jane, who has never seen her brother dance professionally in New Zealand.
"She came to see me dance in Australia a few years ago and I sprained my ankle the night before," Cassidy says, laughing again.
It will be the first time Cassidy has danced professionally in Otago.
"It's pretty exciting for me to be dancing here. I'm really looking forward to it. Mum, Dad and Leeza-Jane are coming to the Dunedin shows and then Peter is coming to the Palmerston North performance."
His parents, Bruce and Marilyn Cassidy, still live in Clyde, where Marilyn has run Cassidy's Danceworld for more than 30 years.
"There's always been boys interested in ballet, but unfortunately other boys often give them heaps at school," she says.
"It's common for them to come for a year to 18 months and then leave because they get sick of getting teased. But it has changed. People are far more accepting now of the fact that boys enjoy to dance. After all, girls play rugby."
Marilyn is teaching dance to five boys, aged between 8 and 13. Three are learning ballet and two jazz.
Cassidy dances one of the lead roles, Basilio, in Don Quixote this weekend.
A highlight of the eight-centre tour has been working closely with 69-year-old lead Sir Jon Trimmer.
"He's a wonderfully gifted dancer. He's so inspiring," Cassidy says.
"He's such a fantastic character dancer and he's a top bloke."
