We recently connected with Laura Pakasaar and have shared our conversation below.

Laura , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you’ve thought about whether to sign with an agent or manager?

This year has been the most life-changing year in my career. Last year in September, I got my artist visa approved, moved to New York City, booked my dream job and recently, got signed with an agency. Growing up in a small country called Estonia, all these achievements once felt like unreachable dreams, but I am proud to say that today I am living those dreams. I have always been hard-working and knowing my goals as a professional dancer. The journey has definitely not been easy, especially moving from overseas, having no visa, no contacts, no nothing, but any of that was never an excuse for me and there is always a way if you really want it. I am grateful that my hard work has been noticed and signing with an agency feels still unreal and it is a very big dream come true.

Laura , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Laura Pakasaar, 23, professional dancer from Estonia. I started dancing when I was 7 years old. Back then it was years just a hobby that I really loved to do after school, but as I got older, I started competing, performing and when I was asked to start teaching at a really young age, this is when I started to take it more seriously.
In high school, I was going to school, was training and also teaching, so my schedule was always packed, but I also feel like this is where I got my working mentality because I was always up to something and I loved dancing so much that late nights in the studio and going to school the next day was never a problem for me.
Unfortunately in my country, we don’t have a lot of opportunities for dancers and I needed to looked outside. I decided to apply for an artist visa and moved to the states in October 2022. I have worked with Nike, 5o Cent, Adam Lambert and more. I recently got signed with an agency and I am very excited for the future.
I love performing on big stages, being on set, working in the industry especially in America is such an experience and I am grateful for all the opportunities I have had since I moved here.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

In my country it was harder for me to be myself and dance the way I wanted because people had no knowledge and question me frequently about my social media, videos, pictures, even the clothes I was wearing. I love commercial dance and I started practicing choreography on heels when I was about 15. I feel like that was a time when the feedback started to be not the most genuine because no one else in my town really did that. It affected me a lot, when you are young you take others opinion very personally so I just felt like I needed to get myself into an environment where I can be fully myself and I have definitely found it now.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I really love working with artists, music videos, commercials, but the happiest I am on the stage performing because the energy you get from the audience is not describable.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @laurapakasaar

Image Credits
Mari Makarov James Diaz Paul Tirado Harry Tiits