HOW THE LAB IS SHAPING CONNECTICUT’S DANCE SCENE
THROUGH DANCE CLASSES, PERFORMANCES, AND ARTIST COLLABORATIONS, FOUNDER GERALD LOVELACE IS CULTIVATING A CREATIVE COMMUNITY OF HIS OWN.
Photo courtesy of Gerald Lovelace
Founded in Meriden by Gerald Lovelace, The Lab is a creative space shaped by his work as a dancer, choreographer, and multimedia artist.
You might’ve seen The Lab’s videos on your feed: moody lighting, billowing smoke, and dancers pouring their souls into each performance. Step inside a class, and you’ll find that same energy in person, with students cheering each other on as they work to nail down a routine in front of the camera.
From drop-in hip-hop, heels, and jazz classes to month-long performance workshops, The Lab welcomes dancers at every stage of their journey. The studio has also brought its talent to dance festivals and concerts throughout Connecticut, most recently the Hartford Dance Festival.
Cafeteria sat down with Lovelace just before class, as music filled the studio and students warmed up. He shared the story behind The Lab’s beginnings, its evolution, and his vision for cultivating a creative community in Connecticut.
the making of the lab
Lovelace’s love for dance began at eleven years old, in a hot, cramped garage where he followed along to the music video for Mario’s “Just a Friend 2002.” Armed with a VHS camcorder, he began recording himself and creating his own music videos, sparking an early interest in both dance and videography. That passion followed him to the University of New Haven, where he founded a dance team. After college, he taught at various studios and worked as a freelance photographer before eventually setting out to build a business of his own.
The Lab, however, wasn’t originally meant to be a dance studio. Lovelace initially envisioned a photography studio, but while setting up the space, he noticed there was enough room for a mirror. He put one up, turned on some music, and began to imagine how the space could be transformed into a dance studio. With encouragement from friends, he took a chance on the idea and opened The Lab in 2019.
“If you look at the first initial name, it was ‘The Lab Creative Space for the Arts,’ right?” said Lovelace. “And that's literally what I was trying to make, just like a studio where people can come and create, which they still do, but it's just primarily dance now… So it definitely wasn't the intention starting off, but it ended up being what it is.”
Though dance has since become the studio’s primary focus, that original creative vision remains at its core. The Lab has grown into a community that brings together dancers of all ages and skill levels to connect through movement and music.
A New Rhythm for Dance in CT
Unlike traditional dance studios, which often follow seasonal schedules culminating in a recital, The Lab offers drop-in classes where dancers learn a routine in one to two hours, perform it on camera, and see the finished video shared on social media. The format gives dancers the flexibility to explore different choreographers and styles without committing to an entire season.
Since opening, The Lab has expanded beyond drop-in classes to offer freestyle workshops, performance programs, concept videos, and dance teams, including its house team DNA and junior team DNA Jr. This range of opportunities reflects Lovelace’s own unconventional path into dance. “I didn't start in a traditional studio. I started by literally watching music videos and wanting to create those one day,” he said. Recalling the dance breaks that first caught his attention, he added, “I always wanted to do that.”
While Connecticut’s proximity to New York City has made it a stepping stone for creatives pursuing opportunities elsewhere, Lovelace sees potential in building a dance scene that can thrive locally. The Lab is part of that vision, providing a space where dancers can train and develop their craft without having to look exclusively to major industry centers.
“That's my goal now, is just to keep it the hub that it is to have people come through,” Lovelace said.
Cultivating Community
Beyond its classes and programs, The Lab has become a space for Connecticut creatives to connect and collaborate. The studio has spotlighted local artists like Brianna Maia and Michael Minelli while working with choreographers such as Sinque, who got his start in Connecticut before expanding to New York City and dancing for Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl performance.
One example of this collaborative spirit is Indie Lab Live, a series that invites musicians to submit original tracks for dancers to interpret through a live session of freestyle and performance. By bringing musicians and dancers together, the series gives local artists a platform to share their work with new audiences.
For Lovelace, these collaborations are among the most rewarding parts of running The Lab. “That's the best part of this whole thing. The best part is the collaborations with the local artists. It's been a great experience seeing them shine with our dancers and my videography,” he said. “I feel like that's the synergy where everything works so well that you have artists just collaborating with each other… It's literally just trying to have the same goal of getting this thing out and creating and having fun along the way.”
That same spirit of growth extends to the dancers themselves. Over the years, Lovelace has watched students progress from beginner classes to advanced training, with some eventually returning as instructors. For him, seeing those journeys unfold is part of the culture he hopes to cultivate at The Lab.
“That's the beautiful journey too, is seeing them, the people go from a student to, either student from a beginner class up to an advanced class or seeing a student then become one of the instructors,” Lovelace said. “That's kind of the trajectory of the culture that I'm trying to cultivate too […] We gotta make sure we're educating along the way, like getting somebody from point A to point B or Z or whatever it might be.”
The Music Keeps Moving
As students filed into the studio and stretched for class, Lovelace reflected on what he hopes to build next at The Lab: a stronger pool of advanced dancers in Connecticut who can take on future projects. His goal is to develop dancers who can continue growing as artists and eventually help lead the next generation.
“If I can just make 15 Geralds. Then I can put them in a project,” he said, describing his vision for cultivating dancers who can match the skill and dedication of the studio’s instructors.
When asked what keeps him returning to dance after all these years, Lovelace paused to reflect. “I come back to this question a lot, just to myself. This is like the most consistent thing I've done, I think, ever. Because it all started with dance and photography, videography, all that stuff came after.” For Lovelace, that joy ultimately comes back to music, having grown up with its constant presence in his life and it being an endless source of inspiration that continues to fuel his creativity and love of movement.
“Let's say, like, music stopped being created after like 2009. I'd probably be like, ‘all right, guys, I'm all set. Let’s do something else,’” Lovelace laughed.
For Lovelace, the music never runs out—and neither do the possibilities for what The Lab can become.