The high school teacher producing the country's top dance scholars says the secret is treating the teenagers like "mini-professionals".
After only her fifth year of teaching, Perri Exeter, 29, a dance teacher at Rutherford College in West Auckland, has had students placed at the top of the New Zealand Scholarship results every year since its inception in 2011.
Last year, Exeter's proteges gained a clean sweep of the results chart, with a first, second and third placing.
"We are just so proud of her," said Associate Principal Judy Farrar. She said Exeter had transformed dance into a highly scholastic subject.
"Some students thought they could go to dance class and muck around to the music but when they go into Perri's class they know it's academic as well as about performance."
Miss Exeter, who has a Bachelor of Performance and Screen Arts, tried to create an expectation of discipline, similar to what the students would find at a dance academy.
"I make sure they know it's not a bum subject. I look to teach as close as possible to tertiary, so that they are getting real-world learning. I treat them like mini-professionals," she said. "It's about building a culture of dancers that are thinking, intelligent, well-rounded people It's not just about kicking legs and doing the splits."
She said Scholarship - a level above NCEA Level 3 - required a portfolio of research and analysis, plus a filmed example of performance and choreography. Dancers had to be versatile and delve deep into the craft.
"So much goes into it - physically, mentally, creatively - it's much more sophisticated than NCEA."
Exeter said that because she had the students for only four hours a week, achieving at such a high level meant a lot of hours after school.
"It was all-consuming for the last few months, there were a lot of late nights," the teacher said.
"But as a practitioner of dance myself - both in performance and choreography - I never expect them to do things that I wouldn't do."
Former student Xavier Breed, now in his second year of a Bachelor of Dance Studies at the University of Auckland, credited Miss Exeter with his 2013 top-in-subject success.
"She relates to the students not as a dance teacher but as a normal person. She brings out a different side in you. It can be intimidating performing in class ... but she helps you be confident."
Roll of Rutherford winners
2014:
Annika van Vliet, first
Aniva Feau, second
Leticia Fortes, third
2013:
Xavier Breed, first
2012:
Alannah Prins, third
2011:
Caitlin Thompson, first.