Alex Owens (Jennifer Beals) works two jobs; she is a welder during the day, a job of necessity. At night however she is transformed into a dancing queen as she performs as an exotic dancer - trying desperately to earn money doing something she loves.
However, her real dream is to join a ballet repertoire company along the same lines as the Royal Ballet. Egged on by her life-long friend, aging Hanna Long (Lilia Skala) she starts building up the courage to put in for the entrance auditions.
Yet everytime she goes to the school to pick up her entrance papers she either loses nerve or face and leaves. However her new boyfriend (and boss), Nick Hurley (Michael Nouri) just so happens to be a part of the company through his ex-wife and manages to get her an audition.. much to her dismay.
Will she swallow her pride and accept this help and then rely on her own talent to get through to the final stage, or will she give it all up and join her friend Jeannie (Sunny Johnson) in the strip club down the street? Well its obvious really isn't it? What a feeling!