When the representative of the Paris International Dance Exposition arrives in New York to invite the Academy Ballet of America to compete for monetary prizes, the taxi driver mistakenly brings him to the Club Ballé, a nightclub on the brink of declaring bankruptcy. The owners, Terry Moore and Duke Dennis, jump at the chance to go, despite being aware of the mistake. They hire ballet teacher, Luis Leoni, and his only pupil, Kay Morrow, to join the group, hoping to teach their two dozen show girls ballet en route to Paris by ship. Also going along and rooming with Kay is Mona, Terry's ex-wife, who wants to keep an eye on her alimony checks. Naturally, Kay and Terry fall in love. After the ship is underway, Padrinsky, the head of the real ballet academy, reads about the departure and also heads to Paris, bringing with him his ballet loving gangster patron, Mike Coogan, with orders to eliminate the pair of imposters. Things look bleak for Terry as Kay becomes angry and severs her relationship with Terry when she learns that Mona was once married to him and he never told her that. And Padrinsky gets a deportation order for the whole group on the day they were to perform in the contest.