The 14-year-old Bendigo resident won gold and silver medals in nine events at the competition at Ballarat stadium.

The event saw him wowing the judges for his performance in traditional ballroom dances such as the Swing Waltz, Charmaine, Waltz, Latin, Cha Cha Cha, Quick Step, Charmaine and Tangoette, Waltz and Quickstep and Rumba. 

He took out first in the Swing Waltz open boy new vogue, the Charmaine beginner boy new vogue, in the Charmaine and Tangoette open couple's new vogue and Waltz and Quickstep junior open couple's standard and Rumba junior beginner boy Latin categories.

Ryan said his success on the night came as "quite a surprise".

"I thought I wouldn't get anywhere near first," he said.

Ryan's mother Louisa Joyberry said it was a surprise to her as well, not the least because it was only the second dancing competition Ryan had entered since taking up the sport.

"He hadn't been dancing for very long at all, he started this time last year," Ms Joyberry said.

"People can go into comps for a long time and come back with nothing."

She said Ryan also had a new dance partner and it was the first time he had ever danced with her competitively. 

"He loves it and he happens to be good at it," she said.

"It's one thing to like it, it's another thing to be good at it."

Ryan said he took up ballroom dancing after an injury to his finger.

"I was at school and marking a very hard, old football," he said.

"It bent my finger sideways and broke it in two places. It put me off playing ball sports."

He said people's reaction to his new-found passion varied, but most were surprised and few knew the benefits of the sport.

"A lot of people when they find out they're very surprised, boys are often on computers and doing programming rather than dancing," he said.

"It helps a lot with your posture, I was told previously my posture was pretty bad."

While he didn't take to liking dancing immediately, Ryan said he had given it a brief try at an earlier age and decided to give it a proper look in.

"Before I started dancing about a year ago, I did try dancing when I was 11," he said. 

"It was actually something I was only attending once a week and dreading, but now I'm always looking to practice." 

Ryan said he practiced as often as he could at dance studio iDance Bendigo in Barnard Street, sometimes seven days a week. 

Watching a video of some of his dancing a year ago made him appreciate how much he had learnt in a relatively small amount of time, Ryan said.

He said he could see himself dancing at a processional level after finishing school.

"I wouldn't mind making a career out of dancing, and from the judging recently I think I must have got the knack of it," he said.

For the moment, however, Ryan said he was happy just preparing for his next competition, which will be held at the Crown Casino in Melbourne from April 18-20.

"Crown is quite glamourous, and it's going to be in a large dance hall which should be good," he said.

"I'm expecting a lot more competition because it is in Melbourne.

"Apparently there is a lot more competition at Melbourne ones, some people don’t go out to regional areas to compete."

He said his dance partner, Laura Cook, was currently nursing an injured knee after netball training Tuesday night and he was hoping for her speedy recovery.