The Third Years teach a dance class to a group of local kids; Tara feels old wounds re-opening and Abigail has to face her past and let it go.

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.

Christian's sentencing hearing has been set and, believing that he's headed for juvenile detention, Christian decides to stop playing by other people's rules and goes back to his old neighbourhood. Tara has been working hard in rehab, with Ethan as her coach, but is too scared to dance again. Sammy is so focused on trying to save Christian that he's been ignoring Abigail and she has to accept that their relationship is over.

It is school camp time and Tara is ostracised by her friends and further humiliated when photos of her and Christian kissing keep appearing everywhere. Tensions culminate in a fight between Kat and Tara, and both girls learn the hard way that friendship is more important than boys.

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.

When the Board decides to cut hip hop and jazz from the curriculum Kat goes on the warpath, blaming her mother for this change. Tara and Christian find themselves together at the beach and their spark is rekindled, so much so that they lose track of time and are running late for the Patron's Showcase performance when Tara trips and badly injures herself.

Auditions for the National Ballet Company have arrived bringing superstitions, old competitive battlelines and the performance that will determine the rest of their lives.

Grace seems to have found a perfect match with life on the road until Zach clamps down on declining standards during the Third Year regional tour. At the Academy, Kat commences a leading role in the indi dance movie.

Rehearsals for The Nutcracker are underway. Tara is playing the role of Clara and quickly discovers that being the star is not all its cracked up to be as Abigail's claws re-emerge. Sammy is forced to admit that his feelings for Christian have moved beyond that of just friendship and Myles Kelly returns to rescue Kat from the costume dungeon where she has been exiled since walking out of her audition.

Tara arrives at the Academy excited about the year ahead but soon discovers that she is the worst dancer in the class. As Tara struggles to fit in, she learns the hard way to respect her teachers, who her true friends are, and to watch her back around her roommate Abigail.