[2][3] Set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the show revolves around 18-year-old Alex, a welder by day and 'flashdancer' by night, and her dreams of attending the prestigious Shipley Dance Academy.

On the floor of Hurley Steel, young steelworker Alexandra ("Alex") Owens welds while waiting impatiently for her shift to end ("Steeltown Sky").

As Alex warms up to perform at Harry's, her good friends (and fellow dancers) Kiki, Tess and Gloria sing "Maniac".

But when the bar's owner, Harry, enters and complains that a new lap-dance joint called Chameleon — opened down the street by a shady entrepreneur named C.C.

("Steeltown Sky" - Reprise) The next day, Nick approaches Alex in the steel mill's lunchroom, but once again she rejects his advances.

After they exit, he is approached by his secretary, who shows him a list of workers slated to be fired as the company starts to outsource its manufacturing.

Nick and Alex return to her place from their date and start to move past their assumptions about one another; she admits to her dream of attending Shipley, while he confesses that he is torn about the employees his family wants him to fire.

A few weeks later, Alex goes to Hannah holding an envelope from the Shipley Academy, and opens it to discover she has been called back for a final audition ("My Next Step").

Blissfully unaware of all this, Alex steps onto Harry's stage and dances exuberantly, finishing with an iconic blast of water from above ("Maniac" reprise).

When Alex discovers that many of her friends at the plant are getting laid off, she and Nick argue, causing him to inadvertently admit he arranged her callback at Shipley.

Alex, still upset from her fight with Nick and coping with learning the truth about her Shipley callback, discovers that Gloria — who she thought was away caring for a relative — has in fact been with C.C.

But when Alex discovers that Hannah has passed away, leaving her some money toward her tuition at Shipley, she finally confronts her own fears and makes the choice to reach for her dreams despite the odds ("Try").

Alex arrives at Shipley just in time to audition, and her remarkable dance dispels the judges' initial skepticism ("Flashdance — What a Feeling").

[14] Directed & Choreographed by Sergio Trujillo[15] A non-equity company led by Julia Macchio as Alex Owens toured the United States in 2025/2016, with additional performances in Canada and New Zealand.

[16] [17] A UK tour produced by Selladoor Worldwide started on August 10, 2017, in Glasgow, with Joanne Clifton as Alex Owens and Ben Adams as Nick Hurley, and closed on 20 October 2018 in Grimsby.

In addition, the show had a successful seven-month run in Paris from September 2014 through March 2015 at the Théâtre du Gymnase, followed by an arena tour in over 40 cities in France from January 2016 to May 2016.

The German language premiere took place in Kriens, Switzerland in November 2013[19] followed by production in Chemnitz, Germany and Amstetten, Lower Austria in 2014.

[22] A German language version of the show produced by company ShowSlot GmbH, directed by Christoph Drewitz and choreographed by Kerstin Reid[23] has been touring Germany, Austria and Switzerland since 2021.

A review by Vancouver Sun noted that while it was still "anchored in '80s music and style," the story had "been retouched to remove a couple of the creepier elements of the original.