The aspiring young Singleton Bulls hooker had an international sporting future firmly in his sights until he took his younger brother Rhys to dance class.

In a complete backflip, his dreams of becoming a Wallaby were dashed and a future treading the boards beckoned.

Jay, 19, is living the dream, seeing the world as a dancer/aerialist with Royal Caribbean Cruises.

Based in Miami, Florida, Jay is in Maitland visiting family, doing impromptu performances and helping out at his old dance studio Planet Dance where he once taught.

“My love for dance pretty much started when I took Rhys back to dancing after he suffered an injury but he gave it up and I took it up,” Jay said.

Jay’s dance journey took a serious turn when he left school in Year 9 and joined the Australian Dance Performance Institute in Brisbane. He spent two and a half years there before joining the Australian Ballet Company for six months.

“I auditioned for Royal Caribbean and was the only male to make it through to the last round with 12 girls,” Jay said.

He taught at Planet Dance for three months before starting with the cruise line.

He has traveled throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and next month will travel to Asia.

His training is intense and he can take part in seven performances during a five-day cruise. “It’s a pretty tough job physically, very demanding but I love what I do and I’m seeing the world,” Jay said.

“With the aerial work sometimes we are 12 storeys high hanging upside down. It’s similar to what Pink does in her shows but a bit tougher,” he said.

Over the past two weeks Jay has performed for Benhome Maitland residents and Signature Gardens residents at Rutherford.

His ultimate dream is to join a contemporary dance company but in the meantime Jay is happy to keep cruising the world and living his dream.