Country girl Tara Webster travels to Sydney to audition for the prestigious National Academy of Dance. It's a tumultuous week as she realises her dream of becoming a dancer is going to be a lot more difficult than she ever anticipated.
Tara arrives at the Academy excited about the year ahead. As she struggles to fit in, she learns the hard way to respect her teachers and find true friends.
When Tara's crush on Ethan threatens to derail her friendship with Kat, Sammy gets her to write a pros and cons list to clear her head. As the roommate war escalates, Abigail wins a decisive victory — emailing Tara's list to the whole school. Christian finds himself in police custody and, with nowhere else to go, has to accept his place at the Academy.
The first years are given trust exercises to help build a connection with their pas de deux partners. Tara is frustrated when Christian refuses to participate, Kat feels betrayed by Tara's secret crush on her brother, and Sammy finds himself tied to Abigail for 24 hours.
Sammy is forced to choose between dance and his father when compulsory Saturday ballet classes clash with his Synagogue services; and Christian struggles to accept the rules of the Academy.
Tara is stunned to learn Kat's mother is Natasha Willis — a world-acclaimed ballerina and Tara's greatest idol. Meanwhile, Sammy's perfect girlfriend Mia has unexpectedly returned from an overseas exchange and he's torn between his loyalty to Mia and his new-found attraction to Abigail.
Ethan needs a dancer for his hip-hop choreography showcase and calls Christian on the favour he owes him from when he stole money from his wallet. Christian agrees but refuses to dance Ethan's choreography, deeming it wannabe American gangster. He takes Ethan back to his old neighbourhood, to show him some real Australian street hip-hop. Meanwhile, Tara is the self-proclaimed expert on crushes and is happy to educate Kat in every aspect of the mysterious art form.
Tara's sick of being the youngest and hates that Ethan sees her as just a little kid. So when Tara is seen talking with Damien Lang, a soloist in the Company and a local boy from Tara's home town, a rumour is spread that they are dating. Tara is overjoyed by this rumour but when it becomes a scandal that jeopardises Damien's career, Tara is forced to admit the humiliating truth. Meanwhile, Abigail is unwilling to accept the changes in her developing body.
Mocking her friends' obsession with teen popstar Myles Kelly, Kat creates a video of her dancing to one of his songs and then posts it on the internet. The video becomes so popular she is contacted by his music company and invites her to dance in his next video clip. Meanwhile, Ethan views Christian as a friendly rival and the two boys begin to compete with each other.
Christian's best mate Aaron comes to stay and reveals the truth about the robbery they committed. Meanwhile, Abigail's control issues are spiralling out-of-control and she is caught shoplifting.
Tara is elated when Ethan asks her to dance in his choreographic assessment piece. Is he finally beginning to see her as a romantic potential? But when she arrives at the studio to find Ethan engrossed in conversation with his mentor — the talented, gorgeous and much older Dana Strong — it's obvious who Ethan has his sights on. Eager to impress Dana with his talents as a choreographer, Ethan pushes Tara mercilessly to dance better. Meanwhile, Kat, Sammy , Abigail and her younger sister Paige head to Luna Park for the day. Abigail struggles to connect with Paige who would prefer to be in the company of Kat and Sammy.
Pressure is building at the Academy as the students prepare for exam week. Tara tries to ignore her recent 'almost-pash' with Ethan so she can focus on her exams; however it's not as easy as she'd hoped. When Ethan attempts to kiss her again, Tara makes a quick exit. Remembering how awkward their first kiss was, she doesn't want to ruin her chances with a terrible second kiss as well and so Tara recruits Kat and Sammy for help.
It's Open Week at the Academy, when parents watch their children in a series of demonstration classes. Tara is thrilled to see her mum and dad again but when they arrive she is embarrassed that they're not as sophisticated as everyone else's parents. Later, Tara is shocked when her mum tells her the farm is in serious financial trouble. Tara realises that family is the most important thing and makes a very difficult decision about her future. Meanwhile, Kat feels betrayed that Natasha has reneged on a family holiday she'd promised in order to dance in yet another international ballet. Sammy also suffers disappointment when his father fails to attend any classes, and he is left wondering if his father will ever accept that he wants to be a dancer.
Tara returns from the school holidays on top of the world — she has great friends, a gorgeous boyfriend, the first year scholarship, and is finally allowed to dance en pointe. Kat introduces Tara to her new boyfriend Lucas, a 'diplobrat' she met while on holiday with her mother in Europe. Tara immediately dislikes him but doesn't reveal her aversion to Kat, who convinces Tara to go to a warehouse party in the city which ends in Tara calling Christian for help. What has Kat done to make Tara upset? Meanwhile, Abigail is struggling to convince her therapist to allow her to return to ballet classes after her collapse last semester. Sammy, who has been her constant companion throughout the holidays, tries to convince Abigail to help him out with the ballroom dance classes that he is giving for his grandmother and her friends.
Petra Hoffman arrives at the Academy on exchange from the Berlin Ballet School; Kat has been ditching class to spend time with her new boyfriend; and Tara kisses Christian behind Ethan's back.
Kat is upset when her parents ignore her 16th birthday and throws herself a huge party at their harbourfront home in revenge. The house quickly fills with people and events spiral out of control when Kat's boyfriend Lucas (Andrew Hazzard) tries to take advantage of her while she is drunk. Luckily, Christian manages to save her from Lucas but the situation goes from bad to worse when the police are called to shut the party down. Meanwhile, Abigail causes trouble when she aquires a photo of Tara kissing Christian.
It is school camp and everyone is dreading the trip away, especially Tara who has been made an outcast following the party. Kat still isn't talking to her and Tara is further humiliated when photos of her kissing Christian keep appearing everywhere. Tara believes Kat is the culprit and confronts her about it. Meanwhile, Abigail has been banned from dance class until she completes an English essay and Sammy has been assigned as her tutor.
German exchange student Petra Hoffman is thrilled when she is invited to stay at the Academy. However, when the Berlin Ballet Company offers her a contract, she has a difficult choice to make — her lifelong dream or the chance to spend the next few years as a teenager? Whilst Abigail is making more trouble for Tara, Kat tries to make amends after having disappointed a younger dancer. At the same time Sammy and Abigail have begun secretly kissing, but while Sammy wants the relationship public, Abigail insists it remains behind closed doors.
Junior footballers from the Institute of Sport have been sent to the National Academy for a week of specialised training in order to improve their elevation, coordination and flexibility. Tension between the footballers and male dancers erupts and they set a challenge to prove who has the toughest sport. The footballers must learn a routine and dance it with no mistakes, while the ballet boys must score once against the footballers in a game of touch football. Meanwhile, Tara is caught up in her own competition; Miss Raine has pitted her against Abigail in nightly private classes, intending to use their rivalry to drive each other harder.
When the Board decides to cut hip hop and jazz from the curriculum Kat goes on the warpath. Tara and Christian find themselves together at the beach and their spark is rekindled.
A month has passed since Tara's injury and her plaster is about to come off. However, her focus is on Christian, who is her new boyfriend. She also deals with planning the school formal. Sammy and Abigail decide to step up their relationship on the night of the school formal.
The date for Christian's robbery hearing has been set but his defence strategy relies on his best mate, and co-accused, Aaron admitting that he was the one who brought the knife to the robbery. However, Aaron has vanished leaving Christian with slim hope that he will avoid juvenile detention. Meanwhile Tara has been working hard in rehab and the time has come for her to go back to dancing but she fears she will injure herself again. Ethan has been her coach, using the time he spends with Tara to avoid signing his company contract, because he's no longer sure it's what he wants. They both realise they need to face their fears in order to reach their dreams.
Today, Christian faces his punishment for the robbery. But when Aaron returns, Christian's conscience gets the better of him and he changes his story to protect his friend. Concerned by his decision, Sammy enlists the help of Christian's oldest friend Kaylah to try and convince him to change his mind. Meanwhile, Ethan has received interest from a dance company in Spain who are looking to take on young choreographers.
In the weeks since the court hearing, Sammy and Christian have been inseparable. In fact, they've made a pact of brotherhood — from now on, they will forget all about girls. Sammy is elated; he's never had such a good guy friend. However, when Christian ditches Sammy to spend time with Tara, what Sammy feels is uncomfortably a lot like jealousy. What if he likes Christian as more than just a friend? Meanwhile, auditions for the end of year production of The Nutcracker are upon them and Kat and Ethan's father — the internationally acclaimed Sebastian Karamakov — is directing the ballet. Who will make it and who will walk out of the auditions?
Rehearsals for 'The Nutcracker' are underway and Tara discovers that being the star is not all it's cracked up to be. Sammy is forced to admit that his feelings for Christian have changed.
The end-of-year production has arrived and Tara is rehearsing her solo in Act 2 of The Nutcracker. Director Sebastian Karamakov is not happy with her performance and threatens to put Abigail in her place. When Tara gets her costume fitted she learns many famous ballerinas have also worn the same nightgown — giving her a new boost of confidence. But when Abigail hides Tara's costume, trouble starts again and Tara's best friend, Kat is not around to help. Kat has left for a road trip with musician Myles Kelly. Meanwhile, Sammy faces reality when he learns his parents are refusing to pay for his tuition at the Academy next year, regardless of his good marks. Sammy begs his father to come to the end-of-year performance, believing that if he saw him dance he'd change his mind.
After a perfect summer holiday with her boyfriend Christian, Tara returns to the Academy to begin her second year. On her arrival is the news that the Prix de Fonteyn — a very prestigious ballet competition — will be hosted in Sydney. Tara is excited to be chosen to perform a solo in the launch celebration at the Opera House, but faces some serious competition in the form of Grace — a beautiful young dancer who studied at the Royal Ballet School and is Miss Raine's goddaughter. Excited to reconnect with her friends Kat and Sammy, it quickly becomes apparent to Tara that it will be a strange year as Sammy works multiple jobs to pay his tuition and BBF Kat is no longer at the Academy. Abigail has undertaken counselling during the break and tries to transform herself into a 'nice' person; and to the surprise of Christian and ex-girlfriend, Abigail, Sammy is also kissing lots of girls in the little spare time he has.
Tara finds a new mentor to admire in Saskia Duncan, the youngest principal dancer in the Company's history. Saskia takes Tara under her wing, but gives her a few things to worry about; like is there a future with Christian if he's not committed to becoming a principal dancer like she is? Feeling threatened by the inclusion of 'effortlessly perfect' Grace, and with 'nice' Abigail now a distant memory, Abigail endeavours to dig up the dirt on Grace's background to find a reason to have her dismissed. She's aided by her doting First Year minions, and finds they can really help a bruised ego. Meanwhile, Kat struggles to find her feet at a normal school and Christian bucks the discontinuation of hip hop in the Academy curriculum by teaching it to students in a secret class.
Kat finally makes friends with the coterie of outcast girls at school, but despite having sworn off dancing, finds herself helping them choreograph a piece for drama class and approaches Tara, Sammy and Christian to help her teach the schoolgirls. First Year student Ben Tickle is upgraded to Second Year. He's cute and brimming with energy but has a knack of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. Uninhibited, he throws himself a 'welcome to Second Year party' and attempts to find new mates in Christian and Sammy.
Tara's ecstatic when her mentor, Saskia, is appointed to teach the Second Years at the Academy while she recovers from an ankle injury. But she rapidly discovers that 'perfect' Saskia may not be the supportive teacher she hoped for... Ethan draws courage in his own abilities as a choreographer and the resolve to forge his own path. Meanwhile, Sammy's decision to pay his own tuition leaves him scrambling to make ends meet. He desperately attempts to become a skilled waiter, and starts to master the role until Miss Raine discovers his extra-curricular occupation.
Showcase, a breakout event in the commercial dance calendar, is fast approaching. When Sebastian questions the impressiveness of Ethan's piece, a solo with Abigail, Ethan rushes to include a chorus of dancers, including Grace. His sudden change backfires when it's clear Abigail doesn't appreciate sharing the choreography with other dancers. Christian's old friend Kaylah comes back into his life, asking for his help to perform a piece at Showcase which sparks Tara's jealousy.
Sammy's little brother Ari arrives at the Academy, throwing Sammy's hectic schedule into havoc and Kat auditions to be a football cheerleader, happily encouraged by Ben. Meanwhile Tara is having self esteem issues when it comes to the looks department.
Tara's concern about the time she spends with Christian impacting her dance study leads to her to suggest they 'pause' their relationship. Ben tries to impress Kat through an ambitious choreography assignment. Meanwhile, Grace has cause to be jealous when Abigail and Ethan continue to work closely together.
Tara decides to take action after realising that Saskia's continual critique of her dancing could jeopardise her mid-year exams. Christian ditches his pas de deux exam to hang out with Kat. Wired on energy drinks, an overtired Sammy kids himself that he's blitzing exams and puts Abigail in danger as a result of his behaviour.
With exams finally over, and, with one night of freedom, both the boys and the girls go on a mission to prove they'll have more fun without each other. However, Sammy is tense after failing his exams, Tara's still hurting from her breakup, and Grace decides to stir up trouble.
Sammy returns home for his Grandpa Morrie's funeral and to ask his father to support his Academy tuition. While an act of sabotage severs frenemies Tara and Abigail, Kat auditions for the Moulin Rouge.
Grace encourages Tara to take action against Saskia's spiteful treatment of her; Kat commences training for the Moulin Rouge which leads her to a big realisation, and Sammy is assigned a Third Year, Ollie, as a tutor to get him through his exams.
Saskia's bullying of Tara results in a painful injury. Kat convinces Miss Raine to grant her an audition to return to the Academy but has to let Abigail train her.
Determined to prove Saskia wrong, Tara risks serious injury and possible expulsion to compete in the Prix de Fonteyn Preliminary Round. Kat is on top of the world when she's allowed back into the Academy.
Whilst recovering from her broken back, Tara discovers a hidden side to Ben who is volunteering in a hospital leukaemia ward performance. Back at the Academy, Kat struggles with the culture shock of First Year.
Tara negotiates her return to the Academy after being expelled. Meanwhile, Ethan's search for ongoing employment leads him to a position choreographing a fringe musical.
Sammy and Ollie's friendship heads into unchartered territory when they go on a road trip so that Sammy can compete in a Prix de Fonteyn regional round, while Christian joins them to reconnect with his estranged father, Raf.
The escalating conflict between the first and second year students results in a hip-hop dance battle to determine which year has the greatest talent, and Tara becomes unhinged when Grace entices her to become less serious.
During an excursion to the circus, Christian's dad makes promises he's unable to keep. Tara tries to repair her friendship with Kat and Sammy goes public about his new romance.
Tara opens herself up to love again and hunts for a new crush. Finn, the director of a fringe musical, tries to convince Abigail to be the star of his new show, and Grace goes to extreme lengths to get Zach's attention.
Abigail's best efforts to balance her ballet commitments with the fringe musical splinter when a leaked staff email discounts her chances in the Prix de Fonteyn. Her situation intensifies when her over-supportive mother, Anthea, unexpectedly arrives at the Academy. Meanwhile, Sammy tires of Ollie's persistent criticism.
The Academy students experience stinging prejudice from the judges during the National Round of the Prix de Fonteyn, just as Sammy's father visits the competition to watch his son dance for the first time in years.
Grace's father retracts a promise to visit her at the Academy, her self-assurance spirals. Grace continues to make a play for Zach's attention, leading her to manufacture a serious accusation. Christian's resolve to bounce back from his Prix de Fonteyn elimination drives him toward some reckless behaviour.
During rehearsals for 'Peter Pan' Ben tries a variety of tactics to prove to Tara that he's a leading man, while Kat's efforts to research her character in the production lead to a realisation about her relationship with Christian.
Sammy decides to alter his Prix de Fonteyn solo one day before the start of the International Round while Tara is stunned as Grace has returned to Sydney as a representative for the UK Prix team. The students' lives are changed forever when a tragedy strikes the Academy.
After a sudden tragedy, the Academy students must find a way to come together and help each other out in this time of darkness.
Abigail and Tara join forces to go head-to-head with a formidable enemy. Christian has to choose between the girl he loves and his desire to escape and Ben is offered an opportunity of a lifetime.
It's three weeks into Third Year and Tara and her friends are already feeling the pressure. Speculation bubbles when the National Ballet Company announces it needs three temporary fill-in roles in the corps de ballet.
On their first day as fill-in dancers, Tara, Grace and Ben encounter cliques in the corps de ballet. Meanwhile, Christian has no interest in going back to the Academy.
Kat struggles to stay positive and her determination to advance into Third Year is morphing into dangerous patterns. Meanwhile, Grace plays match-maker, and Christian's lost his place at the Academy.
Ben is flattered when Saskia offers to be his mentor and it becomes clear there's potential for them to dance together brilliantly; and Abigail and Christian disturb everyone with their unlikely friendship.
Saskia arranges a special audition with the Company's artistic director for her protégé, Ben. Grace's world implodes; and Zach allows Christian to participate in a music video Ollie is producing.
While the Third Years rehearse for their upcoming regional tour, the Academy goes a little Hollywood when a film crew arranges to use their building as a location for a new indie movie. Abigail defies Miss Raine and auditions for one of the minor acting roles. Meanwhile, love might be in the air but the right people aren't cast as Romeo and Juliet. Grace does everything she can to undermine a new relationship so that her position on the tour is guaranteed.
The Third Years are having the time of their lives on the road performing in country towns across Australia, but they are prioritising fun over performance. Zach promises to shake up the cast list if they don't start committing. A different side to Grace emerges on tour, while competition between Ben and Christian erupts and Abigail tries to distance herself from what happened in Barcelona. Back at the Academy, Kat clashes with the movie's third assistant director, Jamie.
On the final leg of their tour, the Third Years are invited to a traditional Indigenous ceremony and return the hospitality by offering a dance class to the local kids. Christian finds he is an unexpectedly good teacher, while Tara and Ben struggle with the realisation that their onstage chemistry is underwhelming. Meanwhile, Abigail tries to claim the solo role in the contemporary ballet but is blocked by past disappointment; and Kat's insecurities grow until an inevitable confrontation forces her to see an enemy in a new light.
A career-making performance opportunity brings out the best and worst in everyone, and an injury that sidelines Ollie prompts him to use someone to get ahead. Meanwhile, Kat finds it hard to readjust to her regular ballet life.
Christian and Ollie prepare for Streetbeatz, a major hip hop competition; Kat prepares to audition for a minor role in Coppelia; and Ben takes a stab at revenge.
The countdown to the final Company auditions has begun when suddenly it becomes a whole new playing field; and Christian and Tara come to a final resolution about their relationship.
Auditions for the National Ballet Company have arrived bringing superstitions, old competitive battle lines and the performances that will determine the rest of their lives.
It's judgment day. The Third Years sit before the Company panel and learn their fate - who will be offered a professional contract with the National Ballet Company and who will have to find a new dream?
Ever wondered what it is really like to go to Dance Academy? Get a glimpse behind the scenes as our cast take you through the extensive audition process, rigorous ballet boot camp and the thrill of becoming one of the stars.
During this special clip see the cast talk about how it felt to film the last dance scene of the series as well as what it was like to work on such an incredible show.
This 2017 movie follows the original dance academy TV show and tracks where the characters are in their lives now.
