Dance Academy

It is three weeks into Third Year and Tara and her friends are already feeling the pressure. Speculation bubbles when the National Ballet Company's Artistic Director, Sir Jeffrey McEwan, and Ballet Mistress, Rebecca Braithwaite, announce that some temporary fill-in roles have come up in the corps de ballet.

On their first day as fill-in dancers, the students encounter impervious cliques in the corps de ballet and the girls discover their debut roles require a major display of humility. The day goes from bad to nightmarish when former teacher, Saskia Duncan, who made Second Year a living hell is welcomed back to the Company as their principal ballerina.

Kat is struggling to stay positive and her determination to advance into Third Year is morphing into dangerous patterns. When visiting Academy alumnus, Marcus Kane, assigns the Second Years a character assignment, Kat uses it to put herself into the shoes of a young, university student. Grace feels stifled by Miss Raine's attempt at parenting.

Ben is flattered when Saskia offers to be his mentor and, after an awkward start, it's clear there's the potential for them to dance brilliantly together. Lured by the promise of greatness, Ben is torn between the chance to fast track his ambitions and his loyalty to Tara.

The Company's Sydney season of Giselle is coming to an end and it's almost time for Tara, Ben and Grace to give up their temporary places in the corps de ballet. Saskia, however, has different plans for Ben and arranges a special audition for her protégé with the Company Artistic Director, Sir Jeffrey.

The Academy goes a little Hollywood as a film crew arranges to use their buildings as a location for an exciting new dance movie. Abigail's attention is piqued when she is told her lowly role in the Third Year production of Romeo and Juliet is due to her being earmarked for the lead in the complementary contemporary ballet on the regional tour.

Life on tour. The Third Years are having the time of their lives on the road performing in a tableau of country towns of Australia, but are prioritising fun over performance. Frustrated with their complacency, Zach promises to shake up the cast list if they don't start committing. As the tour rolls into the quirky town of Balangurrk, Christian sees a chance to take the Romeo role from Ben.

When Zach voices doubts about the attraction between his leads in Romeo & Juliet, Tara feels it's time to take her relationship with Ben to the next level. And Wes leads Abigail to face the reason for her dissatisfaction with ballet.

The regional tour has come to an end and the Third Years are faced with the daunting prospect of an encore performance alongside the Company in a Sydney festival gala opening helmed by Sir Jeffrey. Wracked with guilt about her brief reconnection with Christian, Tara tries to break up with Ben, but finds him strangely forgiving of her conflicted feelings.

It's time for Streetbeatz and Ollie has his hip hop crew prepared for battle. Christian is struggling to keep his head above water as his dissatisfaction with himself and the decisions he's made over recent years really starts to compound. When his young fan, Jayden, makes good Christian's offer and shows up to join their crew, Christian sees some hope and takes him under his wing.

The Third Years feel like their year has been reset when the Company's ballet mistress Rebecca Braithwaite is promoted to Artistic Director following the shock retirement of Sir Jeffrey McEwan. As they are handed solos for their final Company auditions, our gang realise the old 'favourites list' no longer applies and they know little about the inclinations of the new Artistic Director.

Our dancers have finally reached the ultimate test, the culmination of their three years at the Academy: the Company Auditions. When Tara learns that Miss Raine is resigning as Principal and moving to America to live with Marcus, she feels the overwhelming need to thank her mentor properly and end her time at the Academy on the best note possible.

Tara's career as a dancer hangs in the balance: she has fractured the other side of her back and needs to undergo surgery. Her friends are forced home from their hospital vigil to attend their Company interviews and discover whether they have been awarded a contract or not. Grace and Ben are two of the first to meet with the new Company Artistic Director, Rebecca.