How Hamilton Evans Is Building Hamilton Haus with Werk

From a small town in the UK to the London Olympics, Millennium Dance Complex, and now his own creative company in LA. Hamilton Evans has always been the kid who wouldn't stop  – and it's gotten him everywhere.

If you don't ask, you don't get. And if you get a no, at least you asked. You know the answer.

- Hamilton Evans, Founder, Hamilton Haus

Left-handed and self-described ADHD, Hamilton Evans was the kid who cycled through obsessions – golf, football, hairstyling – until something finally stuck. It wasn’t a studio at age three. It was a Dance Dance Revolution machine at a bowling alley arcade, on extreme mode, with fifty people watching. DDR stuck. And when his mum noticed, she put him in dance class. He stayed because they let him wear basketball shorts instead of tights.

That's the origin story. And somehow, from that arcade machine in a small country town in the UK, Hamilton Evans built a career that took him from London's Pineapple Dance Studios to the London Olympics to Millennium Dance Complex to The Masked Singer to a 52-person dance company of his own in Los Angeles. Not because he was given anything. Because he never stopped.

The Journey: From DDR to the West End World

Once dance clicked, Hamilton committed completely. He left home at 16 to attend a musical theatre college in Greater London, training in modern, tap, jazz, and eventually everything else. Being one of two boys out of a hundred students turned out to be an advantage. "You get a lot more attention and a lot more critique – because there's only two of you."

His aha moment came at an X Factor audition in the UK, where Brian Friedman was teaching. "Being in that room, seeing the veterans, people who'd been around for a few years – that was when I thought, I want to be like that." Not just as a performer. As a teacher. "Even in an audition room, he was that inspiring. It made me really want to teach." He never told Brian Friedman that. He plans to.

At 5'7", Hamilton found the industry's height requirements working against him early on. But then came a full circle moment: a Justin Bieber X Factor performance where the requirement was 5'8" and under.

"My agent was like, you're going to be good for this. I was like, oh hell yeah." He got it. The connections that followed grew organically, and within a few years he was teaching across the UK, choreographing for major projects, and building the kind of reputation that makes people in a completely different country take notice.

The biggest UK credit: choreographing and creative directing the gymnastics ceremony for the London Olympics in 2012. "Your country only gets the Olympics, how often? Looking back, that opportunity is a rarity." He also danced for the special guest artists – Jessie J, Pixie Lott, Bananarama. "2012 was a booming time. The economy was booming, there was so much work for dancers. It was great."

The Move: One Suitcase, $4,000, and His Mum on the Phone

Hamilton first visited LA in 2011, loved it, and went home. In 2013, he came back for a break – and happened to walk into an agency audition while he was there. They offered to sign him and help with his visa. He took it as a sign.

"I felt I'd done everything I needed to do in the UK. It had become stagnant. I was still loving teaching, but I just felt a bit too comfortable."

He got on a plane at 24 with one big suitcase and $4,000. "I remember calling my mum crying as I was boarding. She said: get on that damn plane. You've come this far, you're not turning around." He got on the plane. His mum has always been his number one fan. "She's my bestie pretty much."

The hustle started immediately and never stopped. Every day he went to Millennium Dance Complex, took class, and asked to sub. Every single day for three weeks. The manager at the time, Jin Lee, eventually told him: "If you shut the f*** up and stop asking me, I'll let you sub." He shut up. She let him sub. His LA teaching career was born.

From there, Millennium. The Edge. Playground. IDA. Studio after studio across LA, and then across the country and the world – France, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Japan, Singapore, and more. Choreography credits continued to stack: America's Got Talent: The Champions, The Masked Singer, Ryan Seacrest's Rockin' New Year's Eve, Don Omar's World Tour. A career built entirely on showing up, asking, and refusing to take no as a permanent answer.

You have to be so proactive to make things happen. Not just in a classroom – connecting with people, going out of your way, asking. People don't ask anymore. They just assume something will be given to them.

What a Hamilton Evans Class Feels Like

Ask Hamilton what students walk away with from his classes and he'll warn you about bruised knees first. He has a collection of DMs in his Instagram from people showing him their bruised knees the day after. He considers this a badge of honor. "Floorwork is always on a tour, always in a music video. You don't just stand on one level. So it's needed – and it almost desensitizes it. Better to do it in class than be scared in an audition."

Beyond the floorwork, what Hamilton is known for is choreography retention. He drills. He repeats. He structures class in a way that makes the steps actually stick. "I always get told: I went to this audition after taking your class and it actually felt kind of slow," he says. "Which is amazing. Because that's what we're preparing for." He's equally clear on what class shouldn't be: "You shouldn't just be going for the cool TikTok move. There should be other reasons too."

Song selection is its own weekly crisis. He goes to New Music Daily every Friday, but always circles back to his anchors – old Beyoncé, Janet Jackson, and Ariana Grande, who he describes as his best friend in another universe. "Classic, iconic music that my generation hears and thinks – you can never go wrong with this."

Hamilton Haus: From a Casual Post to 52 Dancers

Hamilton Haus started with a casual social media post two years ago: something along the lines of thinking about starting my own company, really want to train dancers and help them make connections, I think it's time. The response was enough. Wave 1 launched in November 2024.

The first six months were a learning curve – not about dance, but about people.

Class is class. You show up, you teach, everyone adjusts to how you teach. In a company, you have to understand that everyone learns a bit differently.

The moments that make it worth it are the ones he couldn't get in a drop-in class: watching something click in real time, seeing the shift on someone's face, giving feedback that actually changes how someone moves. "That's the best part of teaching. Seeing those moments happen in real time."

A year anniversary show followed – sold out, plus 30 people standing because they oversold. Then came the next evolution: a beginner-intermediate program to bridge the massive gap between beginner and advanced.

These beginners are killing it and looking amazing and feeling confident – and then they're terrified to go to the advanced. I want to bridge that gap. Help them get strong enough in intermediate that they feel brave enough to walk into an advanced class and struggle in a good way.

Hamilton Haus now has two groups: the Pioneers (advanced) and the Voyagers (intermediate, voyaging and discovering what they're capable of). Total membership: 52. They have crossover sessions together, and company members also choreograph segments of the upcoming show, mentored by Hamilton as teacher-to-teacher. "People can try things they never thought they'd have the opportunity to try. Because there's safety in that group."

Mark Your Calendars for "Behind Closed Doors" on Nov 10

The culmination of everything Hamilton Haus has been building is hitting the stage. On November 10th, Hamilton Haus takes over El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood for an hour-long original show featuring the full company – the Pioneers, the Voyagers, and yes, Hamilton himself making at least one cameo.

Expect jazz funk, hip hop, reggaeton, and contemporary. Expect company members performing choreography they created themselves, mentored and shaped by Hamilton throughout the season. Expect the kind of show that only comes from a group of people who have been training together, trusting each other, and building something real.

Two shows. One night. Tickets available on Werk.

Running It on Werk: Everything in One Place

I have no idea how I was doing it before... with a lot of stress and a lot of yelling at people.

Collecting payments manually meant five reminders, small group follow-ups, individual follow-ups, and the slow creep of awkwardness that comes from chasing money from people you genuinely care about.

I just want to go in and teach and give them all the love. I don't want to be the bad cop chasing payments.

Werk changed that. His Hamilton Haus program runs through Werk. His show tickets run through Werk. His master class schedule, his private lessons, his class videos – all of it, one place.

Where else do I need to go? Not navigating to Google Drive, not Dropbox, not chasing payments via WhatsApp, not logging into a theatre's website to check ticket sales. It's all just there.

‍

Hamilton is one of thousands of dancers building their business using Werk. If you are interested in doing the same, join Werk today!