From performer to company founder: Laura Hague on Hague Ensemble, accessible arts and creating opportunities

Since graduating, Laura Hague (Dance, 2018) has built a career that combines performance, choreography and community engagement. She is the founder of her own dance company, Hague Ensemble, has worked with Nike UK and Boomtown Festival, and currently performs as a puppeteer/dancer in Out Of The Deep Blue. 

Her work also explores important social issues. Her production Do You Understand Me? is about someone navigating dementia and has toured schools across the midlands. We caught up with Laura to discuss her journey since graduating from LIPA, founding her own company and her passion for making the arts accessible to communities. 

You're currently working on a project called Out of the Deep Blue as a puppeteer/dancer, can you tell us a bit more about that? How is it going?  

This show is the first time I have ever done puppeteering, so I was learning on the job originally! The people I was working with were lovely and they gave me tips and tricks in rehearsals. Now it's a skill I really love doing! 

The show is an outdoor show, so we go to arts festivals, street performances and communities all over the UK, and we've been to Europe. I was on the puppet recently and the audience reaction and the joy from the children is just so fulfilling. They are so invested and they really believe that Echo, who is the giant puppet, is real. A lot of the time, we go to places who don't have access to the arts, so for me it's really rewarding. 

Last year you founded a dance company, Hauge Ensemble, how has the first year gone? 

It's been a massive learning curve, but I feel like it was the right thing for me to do at this point in my career. The side of creating opportunities, funding, understanding governance, application writing, I am still developing as a skill, but it's been a good learning experience.  

The year has been good, we did Do You Understand Me? and now we're in the process of developing a new outdoor show, which we've just been successful in funding. We've been lucky in terms of having lots of support from local organisations and we've had a couple of commissions. It's 100% been worthwhile, and I'm really glad I'm doing it.  

Do You Understand Me? follows the journey of someone with dementia, can you tell us a bit more about that? How was it received?  

After I set up Hauge Ensemble, it was our first project. It was an idea I had whilst I was at LIPA, so it's something that was bubbling underneath the surface for a while. Last year we were able to develop it into a full-length piece and toured it around the midlands. We performed at four schools and three venues. 

It's a difficult topic, and people shy away from talking about it, which is why we made the show. It was received so well by young people. We had testimonies saying that some young people had come across somebody in the community with dementia and were able to communicate with them and be dementia friendly, which is exactly what we wanted to promote. 

We did a public premiere at the Midlands Arts Centre in Birmingham and had the British Theatre Guide review it and it was very positively reviewed! That was a lovely moment because having somebody that doesn't know anything about you or your practice come and positively review your work was amazing.  

What has been the highlight of your career so far? 

As a choreographer, it's Do You Understand Me? - especially having that first public premiere and seeing what was in my brain for six years physicalise on stage, it was just amazing. 

As a performer, going into outdoor arts I have loved. Being able to go into communities that don't necessarily have access to the arts and give them a free, high-quality performance and see they're inspired to possibly want to be that next generation of performers, it's special.  

What is your best memory of LIPA? 

I look back at LIPA fondly because it wasn't just one moment that stands out. LIPA is such an amazing hub of creativity, and being around people who are excited to try things out and collaborate was so special. 

I had the opportunity to perform at The Royal Albert Hall as part of the Salvation Army Christmas Concert in my third year, and it was the largest audience I had ever performed to. That whole experience was just lovely. It was one of them moments where I was like, "I actually can do this". 

What's next for you? 

With Hague Ensemble, we're currently in the early stages of creating an outdoor show called Pendulum. It's a mix of dance and bungee assisted dance, which I trained in at LIPA! We're also in the early planning stages for a national tour for Do You Understand Me? in spring 2028. 

I am doing Out Of The Deep Blue and I'm also performing with Highly Sprung on their show called Accelerate. I've also done a lot of facilitation work recently, so I've been training in inclusive practise for under-represented communities and working with young carers, people with dementia and older adults with SEN. 

Laura's Website

Find out more about Hague Ensemble

Check out British Theatre Guide's review of Do You Understand Me?