Broadway dancer Ryan Steele (Newsies, Matilda) makes his film debut as Chip, a talented young dancer from Kansas who moves to New York City — in spite of his parents’ misgivings — to pursue his dream. A reticent 18-year-old, he has a quiet, keep-to-himself manner that at first unnerves his fellow dancers after he is cast in a work with a small modern dance company. Amid the pressures and interpersonal conflicts that are part of any small ensemble and the difficulties of making ends meet as a young aspiring artist in New York, Chip struggles to find his footing. This intimate drama reveals Chip gradually opening up — first as a friend to one dance partner, then as a soloist in his first professional performance, and finally as a lover to another dancer in the company.

Collaborating with internationally renowned choreographer Jonah Bokear, writer-director Alan Brown (Private Romeo, Frameline35) builds his film on the foundation of the five talented dancers he has cast as the members of the fictional dance company. The film’s five chapters are interspersed with choreographed performances that showcase the cast’s extraordinary physical and artistic skill. Filming on location in and around an actual Soho rehearsal studio, Brown captures the gritty authenticity of this slice of the New York dance world, and treats fans of dance to a feast of beautifully filmed, exquisitely performed works of artistic movement.