Chloe Lukasiak Is 'Closing the Chapter' on 'Dance Moms': 'I'm Excited to See What's Next'

When Chloe Lukasiak was approached to participate in the upcoming Dance Moms reunion, airing on Wednesday, May 1, on Lifetime, she was very hesitant to say yes as she spent "many years distancing myself from the show."

"I went to college and I was so focused on that, but then I realized that this was an opportunity to speak my mind. As kids, we didn't get to talk much because we were dancing and it was more about the mom's opinions. I thought it would be really interesting to go back and share my thoughts and voice my opinions on things. I figured if there's a reunion, they will talk about who is there and who is not, so I thought I may as well go and be in charge of my narrative rather than have people speculate about my life," the 22-year-old exclusively tells OK!. "I also wanted to express my gratitude for that time period on the show. I was like, 'Why not do it?' It's been a whirlwind since!"

Dance Moms: The Reunion will reunite some of the girls — JoJo Siwa, Lukasiak, Brooke Hyland, Paige Hyland, Kendall Vertes and Kalani Hilliker — for the two-hour special, which will take a look back at the show that made them a pop culture sensation and household names.

Though Lukasiak keeps in contact with "pretty much" all the girls, she admits being in one room together was "intense" and a lot of tears were shed. "It was cathartic and nostalgic. I think I cried within the five minutes of filming because we did different segments on each of the girls, and I think my segment was first," she recalls. "Within five minutes I was sobbing. I was like, 'Maybe I should go to therapy after this. Let me make an appointment.'"

Despite being nervous about the sit-down, Lukasiak says the show "prepared" her for real world scenarios. "On the day of, I was like, 'Let's go do this.' It wasn't bad. I think it was what I expected it to be. Honestly, I think it was slightly better than what I expected. When we were on the show, it felt like we were constantly talking about shocking revelations and always trying to play catch up. But filming this time around, I felt calm and I knew what was happening," she shares. "Going through an experience like that, you create a bond with these girls. I could go 10 years without talking to any of them and probably could turn around and be like, 'Oh, hey, nothing has changed.' We have that important foundation for a strong friendship. I suspect I'll talk to them for the rest of my life."

"It's like one big family — even with the crew. I'll turn around and I'll see the crew and be like, 'You were an important part of my childhood. I grew up with you.' But the girls are my like my second, third, fourth, fifth sister since I have a sister, but we're all one big family. It's dysfunctional at times, but they've always been supportive and uplifting," she adds. "I think we're all really proud of the different directions we're all taking."

Part of Lukasiak's journey included going to Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., to figure out a few things and take a breather from the entertainment industry. "I've been in it since I was 9 years old, so it was good to get away for a second. Now I'm coming back into it with full force and it's good," she notes. "I thought I wanted to act and go down that path, but by the time I was leaving college, I was like, 'I have so many other passions.' Acting could come back up in the future, but I'm focused on other things."

Case in point: the star came back to her dancer roots by focusing on Elevé, which she founded in 2022, and focuses on educating and inspiring younger dancers in a positive, uplifting environment. "I barely went to events. I was barely seen," she recalls of leaving the show after the Season 4 finale. "I think I did a YouTube video occasionally. I always knew in the back of my mind I wanted to have some sort of full circle moment with dance, but I wasn't sure what it looked like. I'd occasionally be like, 'Is it a dance studio of my own? Is it choreographing? Is it dancing again? Is it going on tour?' I needed those few years away from the dance world to heal that wound."

Two years ago, the dancer was chatting with her three other co-founders about starting their own dance competition. "As soon as it came out, it clicked. I was like, 'That must be it,'" she says. "That must be the full circle moment because with I felt incomplete without dance. Now with Elevé, that is the missing piece. It's not like I have my own team like Abby Lee Miller used to have. It's my own dance competition and we go to everything on the weekend. We host the competition, hire our judges and put the whole thing on. Our mission is to be a beacon of positivity in the dance world. It's really easy to get caught up in the drama and stress of the dance world, but I wanted to create something that remains a positive light for people and something they can walk away feeling really good about — no matter if they got first place or not. They just were able to gain invaluable information from the weekend and had an amazing experience."

As for what the future looks like, Lukasiak has a lot of plans with Elevé. "The sky is the limit. I've been sitting down brainstorming all the different directions we could take it! I can't say much about it yet, but I didn't want to come in and do a dance competition and just have it be this standard thing. I always envisioned this dance empire," she says.

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By attending the reunion, Lukasiak is not letting Dance Moms define her anymore. "I'm really becoming my own person — and I'm not that girl from Dance Moms. The world is my oyster. My mindset going into the reunion was that I wanted to express gratitude for everything and now move on and be this new person. Of course, people were introduced to me that way and that is how they know me, but I'm so much more than that. I feel like I had to go to college and go away to figure that out," she states.

Lukasiak never thought she would go back to the dance world, and now she's co-founded her own dance competition, making her believe that anything is possible. "Never say never," she says. "Dance Moms taught me a lot. I credit a lot of who I am to my experience on the show — not just being on a reality show, but what I experienced on the show. It taught me discipline, hard work, empathy, etc. I'm excited to see what's next."