In Baltimore, the troublemaker and street dancer Tyler Gage lives with his foster parents in an Afro American lower class neighborhood. His best friends are Mac Carter and his little brother Skinny Carter and they use to hang around together, going to parties and stealing cars.
After being expelled of a party, the trio breaks in the Maryland School of Arts and commits vandalism, destroying the stage. Tyler is arrested and sentenced to 200 hours of community service in the school and Director Gordon assigns him to help the janitor cleaning the place. One afternoon, the ballet dancer Nora Clark sees Tyler dancing in the parking area and when her partner Andrew has a strain and Tyler offers to help her in the choreography, she accepts the offer.