Ten-year-old Poppy wants nothing more than to advance to the next ballet grade, but when a new girl, Rose, arrives in class and causes her to mess up during class, she is not sure she will be able to move up with her best friend, Jasmine.

Jasmine's dad does not approve of her taking ballet, so she is hoping to impress him when her school puts on a show and she is the star.

Rose has a hard time keeping her ballet and gymnastics lessons straight—the problem is, she is better at gymnastics but likes ballet more, which leaves her with a tough decision to make when she has to choose only one class.

When two strangers come into ballet class to review the dancers, Poppy is nervous that she is not good enough to get picked for whatever it is, and her health and grades may not stand up to her concentration on being a "perfect" dancer.

Jasmine knows that she wants to be a ballerina, but her strict father won't allow her to go to the ballet's Junior Associates auditions, until Jasmine gets the professional ballerina Anna Lane involved.

When a boy joins her ballet class, Rose has trouble concentrating, and hopes that she can focus enough to pass her grade four exam.

When Poppy, Jasmine, and Rose, ballet students and best friends, are chosen to dance the Nutcracker with a professional company, they are ecstatic but unsure of their talents when rehearsals are hard and their beloved teacher becomes sick.