Dance Academy Season 1, Episode 8: Growing Pains

1

Learning to Fly

Country girl Tara Webster travels to Sydney to audition for the prestigious National Academy of Dance. It's a tumultuous week as she realises her dream is going to be a lot more difficult than she thought.

2

Week Zero

Tara arrives at the Academy excited about the year ahead. As she struggles to fit in, she learns the hard way to respect her teachers and find true friends.

3

Behind Barres

Tara's crush on Ethan threatens her friendship with Kat; Abigail wins a decisive victory; Christian finds himself in police custody and, with nowhere else to go, has to accept his place at the Academy.

4

Mine Field

Tara is frustrated when Christian refuses to participate in trust exercises, Kat feels betrayed by Tara's secret crush on Ethan, and Sammy finds himself tied to Abigail for 24 hours.

5

Real Men Don’t Dance

Sammy is forced to choose between dance and his father when compulsory Saturday ballet classes clash with his Synagogue services; and Christian struggles to accept the rules of the Academy.

6

Perfection

Tara is stunned to learn Kat's mother is a world acclaimed ballerina and Tara's greatest idol. Meanwhile, Sammy's perfect girlfriend Mia has unexpectedly returned from an overseas exchange.

7

Crush Test Dummies

Christian shows Ethan some real Australian street hip-hop. Meanwhile, Tara is the self-proclaimed expert on crushes and is happy to educate Kat in every aspect of the mysterious art form.

8

Growing Pains

Tara is overjoyed by a rumour that she and Damien Lang are dating. Meanwhile, Abigail is unwilling to accept the changes in her developing body.

9

Heartbeat

Kat creates a video of her dancing that becomes an internet success. Meanwhile, Ethan views Christian as a friendly rival and the two boys begin to compete with each other.

10

Through the Looking Glass

Christian's best mate Aaron comes to stay and reveals the truth about the robbery they committed. Meanwhile, Abigail's control issues are spiralling out-of-control and she is caught shoplifting.

11

One Perfect Day

Tara is elated when Ethan asks her to dance in his choreographic assessment piece. She hopes that he is finally beginning to see her as romantic potential.

12

Pressure

Pressure is building at the Academy as the students prepare for exam week.

13

Family

It's Open Week at the Academy when parents watch their children in a series of demonstration classes.

14

Turning Pointes

Kat introduces Tara to her new boyfriend; Abigail struggles to convince her therapist to allow her to return to ballet classes and Sammy tries to convince Abigail to help him with ballroom dance classes.

15

My Life En Pointe

Petra Hoffman arrives at the Academy on exchange from the Berlin Ballet School; Kat has been ditching class to spend time with her new boyfriend; and Tara kisses Christian behind Ethan's back.

16

Free Falling

Kat is upset when her parents ignore her 16th birthday and in revenge throws herself a huge party at their harbour front home. The house quickly fills with people and events spiral out of control.

17

A Midsummer's Night Dream

It is school camp and everyone is dreading the trip away, especially Tara who has been made an outcast following the party.

18

Betty Bunheads

German exchange student Petra Hoffman is thrilled when she is invited to stay at the Academy; Abigail is making more trouble for Tara; and Sammy and Abigail have begun secretly kissing.

19

Fairest and Best

Junior footballers from the Institute of Sport have been sent to the Academy for some specialised training. The challenge is on between the dancers and the footballers to prove which is the toughest sport.

20

Ballet Fever

When the Board decides to cut hip hop and jazz from the curriculum Kat goes on the warpath. Tara and Christian find themselves together at the beach and their spark is rekindled.

21

FOMO: Fear of Missing Out

It's a month since Tara's injury and her plaster is due to come off, but Tara seems more focused on her new boyfriend and planning the school formal than she is in attending her doctor's appointments.

22

Flight or Fight Response

The date for Christian's robbery hearing has been set but his defence strategy relies on his best mate, Aaron. However Aaron has vanished. Meanwhile the time has come for Tara to go back to dancing.

23

Best Friends Forever

Christian's conscience gets the better of him and he changes his story to protect his friend. Meanwhile, Ethan has received interest from a dance company in Spain.

24

Heatwave

In the weeks since the court hearing, Sammy and Christian have been inseparable, but when Christian ditches Sammy to spend time with Tara, what Sammy feels is uncomfortably a lot like jealousy.

25

The Deep End

Rehearsals for 'The Nutcracker' are underway and Tara discovers that being the star is not all it's cracked up to be. Sammy is forced to admit that his feelings for Christian have changed.

26

Learning to Fly, Part 2

The end of year production has arrived. Things don't go smoothly when the director is not happy with Tara's performance and Abigail hides her costume.