C3 isn’t new—but after five years of renting out space in Max Level Fitness, the Saratoga-based hip hop dance company has finally found a dance floor to call its own. This summer, Miami-born dancer turned Saratoga businessowner Julie Labate moved her operation to a permanent location in Wilton Mall, which now serves as the HQ for C3’s dance teams, kid’s clinics, adult dance fitness classes, and private events.

“I started C3 because I wanted to create a real hip hop home in Saratoga Springs—a place where kids and adults could train, feel supported, find community, and experience worthwhile dance opportunities,” says Labate, who comes from the hip hop worlds of Miami and NYC. “As we grew, it became clear that we needed our own home base for an expanded schedule.”

That new home base allows Labate to control the full C3 experience, from sound to lighting, and enables her to say yes to new ideas, like hosting master classes with industry-leading choreographers and offering dance classes in styles other than hip hop—including breaking, which gained national attention following its debut at last summer’s Olympic Games.

Now, Labate describes C3 as a business that’s dedicated to lifting people up. “We use dance to build confidence, self-compassion, and self-worth, and to combat aloneness,” she says. “In a more distant, digital world, kids and adults need emotionally safe spaces with respected coaches and peers—and the right balance of challenge and joy.”