The movie opens in Glenwood, Indiana, where Lauryn Kirk (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) narrates the first few parts. There are no dance schools in Glenwood and Lauryn says goodbye to her brother, Joel (John Reardon) before departing for Chicago to audition for a famous dance school, the fictional Chicago School of Music and Dance. Although Joel, who works as a mechanic in the family garage, is wary of Lauryn's decision to enroll, he eventually gives her his blessing. When Lauryn enters the stage, however, her dance (mostly a hip hop routine) was halted by the judge, who hostilely rejects her, saying that they need to see something more "sensual and feminine".