A studio, in its essence, is nothing more than an empty room. It acquires its magic by the people who gather there. Dancers are faithful. They go to the studio not only to hone their craft but to participate in the daily evolution of a living art. There, they sweat into the discovery of their bodies, then write their movements into its history. Whether they ever share a stage, dancers work together in the studio, a space of learning, experimentation, witness, and community. And for 46 years, Lou Conte Dance Studio, located at 1147 W. Jackson, two blocks from the Racine Blue Line station since 1998, was that meeting house for many—at first the students who became the first dancers of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, then the world of dancers who flocked to learn from a dance company that put Chicago on the map.
Furthermore, the Lou Conte Dance Studio was far more than a source of talent and income—it was a source of community for the company. “Lou was such a charming and dynamic presence,” remembers Ginger Farley, who joined the studio at the age of 18, danced with HSDC, and taught at LCDS for 20 years. “He asked the most of you as a teacher, and he didn’t tell you you were great if you weren’t. He was completely honest and inspiring and a perfectionist. When I first started taking class there, it was mostly him teaching. I recall seeing much of the first Hubbard Street repertoire being taught as combinations in class. They’re deeply linked, those two entities, beyond belief.”
An outpouring of sadness has overwhelmed the dance community near and far, with many dancers mourning the loss of a spiritual home. “Musicality, exactitude, high standards for yourself and pleasure, and a sense of the group improving together, watching and learning from each other—there’s nothing like class,” says Farley. “You admire someone’s work and aspire to it with your own body in the same space in the same time. It was powerful.” Says Barodicaite, “It was like two lungs—now one will be missing.”
