On April 13, the University of Central Florida’s Campus Activities Board hosted a Speaker Knight at UCF’s Pegasus Ballroom, which featured Chloe Lukasiak, a former reality TV star on Dance Moms. This was an event open to all UCF students with free admission, provided they had a valid ID, to come and listen to Lukasiak.
Moments before I headed to the ballroom from my weekly Her Campus meeting, I pitched the idea of writing this article about Lukasiak, which I wasn’t even planning on attending. I initially wanted to go to Speaker Knight for my sister, Lena, who lives back home with my parents, 180 miles away.
My 15-year-old sister is a dancer, and over Easter weekend, she asked if I was going to see Lukasiak. At first, I had no idea what she meant—why would a high schooler know about a college event? Then I remembered she’s a Dance Moms fan at heart, so of course, she was fully up to date on anything involving the show.
My sister relates to Dance Moms, not only as a dancer, but also because she pulled a Brooke Hyland. In other words, she “left, went out and tried out for cheerleading, and still made it to the top of the pyramid.” That’s a quote by Lukasiak’s mom, which is ironically relatable to my sister.
Therefore, my sister insisted I go, and I did. Don’t get me wrong, though, it wasn’t just for her. I tuned in on Lifetime to watch Dance Moms every night after a hot bath, cozied up in my long-sleeve pajamas. So yeah, I guess you could consider me an “O.G.” too.
I got to the ballroom and noticed the doors were open; however, it wasn’t 7:00 p.m. yet. I turned the corner, and there was a long line forming in the Student Union already. Luckily, it wasn’t too lengthy, so I didn’t have to wait outside.
After standing on my feet in line for an hour and 45 minutes, the doors finally opened. I don’t know how this happened, but I was seated in the second row, so close to the stage that I could clearly see Lukasiak’s facial features.
She walked onstage around 8 p.m. in an all-black Aritzia dress with matching black heels, her hair slicked back into a ponytail to show off her gold-accented earrings, though I know she prefers silver jewelry, as she stated later in the night.
I barely recognized her as she walked out on stage, and I’m not sure why. I see her every day on my TikTok and Instagram feeds, but I guess people look different through a screen.
Following Lukasiak’s entrance, she sat down across from two CAB staff members, Antonio Mitchell, the comedy director, and Alexis Butler, the impact director. They both did a phenomenal job in preparing and asking questions that were appropriate for Lukasiak.
Shortly into the show, Butler asked about Lukasiak’s relationship with her mother after talking about some memories from the reality TV show.
“I was actually talking to her in the dressing room,” Lukasiak said. Around me, I heard gasps from the audience, whispering, “Is Christi here?” “Omg Christi is here!” However, it was a false alarm.
Butler proceeded to ask if Chloe were to call her mom, would she answer? Chloe Lukasiak said yes and decided to prove it by facetimeing her mother, Christi Lukasiak, who, of course, picked up the phone. The screen was panned towards the audience, and the ballroom was ecstatic.
During the short facetime, Chrisiti Lukasiak shared some advice of her own: “Don’t work the same job in your 30s because you’re going to learn to hate your job. Oh! And don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” This was very expected and very typical advice coming from Lukasiak.
Throughout the event, Lukasiak spoke with such elegance and maturity. She even interacted with the students in a conversational tone. For example, after sharing her most recent collab, Lukasiak was asked if she would be seen in any more brand collaborations, to which she replied, “I don’t know, what other brands do you guys think I should collab with?”
Throughout the show, there was a lot of conversation about her hobbies and how she copes with having a tough childhood on Dance Moms. Lukasiak shared that she loves watching shows and reading books. It was so refreshing to hear that she found positive hobbies for herself.
During the event, there was even a moment when I had the chance to speak with her. During the closing part of the show, there was a segment for rapid-fire questions, where Mitchell asked Lukasiak, “dark swan or white swan?”
I blurted out, “Ever since you dyed your hair brown, the black dress tonight gives black swan!” She looked at me as I said this, and I swear my heart skipped a beat.
The event lasted until 9:15 p.m., and it ended with Q&A from the crowd. As Lukasiak began to exit the stage, the left side of the audience rushed toward her, hoping to get a photo. At first, Lukasiak was hesitant, but she crouched down in front of a crowd of people and posed for over 10 selfies. As much as I understand why Lukasiak was escorted off stage shortly after, I was a little disappointed I couldn’t get that autograph for my sister, or for me.
Lukasiak’s energy toward the crowd that night made it feel and sound as if she were friends with everybody. I have never been to a Speaker Knight or any other event like this, where I was able to hear from someone that I watched grow up on TV at the same time as I did. Ultimately, it was an amazing experience.