Rachel Lau ’19 talks about her dance and economics I.S. project and her journey as a choroegrapher and dancer.
Please introduce yourself.
My name is Rachel Lau, and I’m from Hong Kong. I’m a double major in economics and theatre & dance. I’m most active on campus with the C.O.W. Dance Company, but I’m also involved with other organizations here and there.
How and when did you start dancing?
I grew up doing rhythmic gymnastics because honestly, my parents wanted me to do exercise. Rhythmic gymnastics is also primarily where I got my background in movement. Although I took some ballet and breakdancing classes, I was not formally introduced to dance until my first year of college when I participated in the Fall Dance Concert as a dancer. Since then, I became more and more involved in modern dance by choreographing, lighting design and becoming a co-coordinator of the C.O.W. Dance Company. I even decided to major in theatre & dance.
You did a piece in this year’s Spring Dance Concert, as well as other concerts in the past. What is usually your thought process as a choreographer?
Before going into the studio, I try to have a plan and a checklist of what I want to accomplish with my dancers. To come up with a range of movement ideas, I sometimes record myself improvising to different genres of music and watch the recording to select what I like. What also works for me is to give my dancers prompts to follow in order to come up with movement phrases. I find that this gives them the chance to develop their artist minds and to create movement that works best for their bodies.
How did you realize a connection between economics and dance?
As a double major completing two separate theses, I came up with two approaches to fuse the two together. The thought did not just occur to me. I actually thought (very very) long and hard about it. On the one hand, my dance I.S. aims to represent economic concepts through dance. This allowed me to do what I love, to choreograph. On the other hand, my economics I.S. gave me the opportunity to explore the economics of the dance industry, allowing me to use economic theory and quantitive techniques, as most economists do.
Your I.S reflects a merger of economics and dance. Could you tell us a bit about your project and what went into putting it all together?
The main goal of my I.S. is to use econometrics, specifically the regression model, as a source for choreography. In other words, I wanted to physicalize a mathematical branch of economics called econometrics. Obviously, I did my research on dance choreography and econometrics. This endeavor also required some background research on mathematics, an overlap between dance and econometrics. With my research and choreographic ideas, I started rehearsals at the beginning of the spring semester, and presented my choreography in the Spring Dance Concert.
Can you talk about your experience with your APEX fellowship?
The two parts of my APEX Fellowship merged my interest in dance and economics. First, I interned with a yoga and pilates freelancer in Hong Kong where I gained experience in the business side of managing a sole proprietorship. The second part of my fellowship took place on the campus of Duke University in North Carolina, which focused more on the physical aspect of dance. I took dance classes, participated in discussions revolving dance, performed in the International Choreographers in Residency Concert and watched professional dance companies perform.
What were you most hopeful about and most scared about with your I.S.?
Since the first half of the [dance] I.S. process was all research and writing, I was afraid that my ideas and visions would be impossible. Fortunately, working in the dance studio with my talented dancers and seeing my ideas brought to life reassured the value of my work.
What would you like to tell any member of the Wooster community reading this?
Being called crazy is a compliment.
Interview by Lesley Chinery, a Features Editor for the Voice (Photo courtesy Rachel Lau).