Oh, for heaven's sake. How about we all stop taking ourselves so seriously? The characterization of Asians (and others) in this work was based on ignorance and stereotypes at the time--but so what? We wouldn't do it now, but it was the way some people at the time, in their provincialism, liked to simplistically portray Asians. Again, so what? If you can name one Asian person who is currently damaged (lost job, persecuted, mocked, etc.) by this fictional, fabled work of art, please let me know.
(Hey, perhaps we should re-vamp the portrayal of women in this ballet, too, while we are at it. I object, as a woman, to being portrayed as a fairy princess in a short tutu covered in sparkles! That's not who we women are! We are being stereotyped! I never wear sparkly tutus, so why should this ballet portray me in this way? Either portray the female characters in this ballet in jeans and sneakers, please, or ban the entire ballet!)
Just FYI, this is the kind of nonsense that got that appalling man, Donald Trump, elected as president. Most people being thoroughly concrete thinkers, they reacted to the ridiculousness of the kinds of issues raised in this article by going to the other extreme, and voting for a disgusting, bigoted, potty-mouthed creep who shocked everyone with his blatant violation of "politically correct" norms.
May the heavens preserve us from you all.
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@EB Do you call it 'nonsense' when African-Americans and other minorities complain about stereotypical images? Seems that liberals like yourself voice Trump-like disdain only when Asians voice similar complaints.
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it's a fairy tale folks ... and a truly loverly one .... almost as real as Paul Bunyon and his blue Ox, Babe ..
Although as an adult I prefer the Mark Morris version...
SO, lets all sit down and laugh, or cry and enjoy the Soltice Season
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I am suspicious, even hostile, to the idea that there is something wrong with so-called "Cultural Appropriation". But I have seen Nutcracker many times, and I've always thought that the problem with the original choreography of Chinese Tea is that it is not Chinese enough. Living near San Francisco, I've seen a lot of Chinese dance, and it has a power and vitality that is totally lacking in the mincing and bobbing of the original choreography. It looks like Mickey Rooney's "Breakfast at Tiffany's" performance set to music. It would be better artistically to create something that combines a real appreciation for Chinese dance reinterpreted ballet style, which would have some of the grandeur and magic of the Arabian Coffee dance for example. I think that is something that the original choreographers would have done if they had had more exposure to Chinese dance, and which Balanchine did in his Bugaku. It sounds like like this is what these new choreographers did, and I applaud them for it.
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I wholeheartedly agree that it is time for this change. It is a real stretch, though, to say that the Kingdom of the Shades in Act 3 Bayadere depicts Indian women who have become white ballerinas in heaven. Ballerinas, yes. White? The tutus are white but the dancers are whatever wonderful colour they are in real life. Yes, dancers pancake their bodies to make them appear more ghostly (as they do in Giselle Act 2) but not because they are supposed to have white skin.
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All good. As long as the updates accommodate the style of the whole, it can work fine.
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In opera, Mozart's Abduction from the Seraglio, Halevy's La Juive and Rossini's L'italiana in Algeri and Il Turco in Italia may also need rethinking .
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@Alan J. Shaw
There is a wonderful English version of L'italiana in Algeri called A Riot Grrrl on Mars, which transplants the whole story to modern times and Science fiction fantasy. The singers in the production I saw couldn't quite handle the trickier ornaments, but it was a fun show, and I ope it is getting done by more professional companies. It shouldn't replace the original, which I have also seen since then, but it's a nice supplement, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glfkRGgslRQ
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@Teed Rockwell
The link above just gives the overture. Here's the complete version on Youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3g--r46G4GOZfDwMlw4g1nerUM67PyuH
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I saw Nutcracker by Universal Ballet Company Company in Korea in 2011. The Asian scene was a complete "yellow-face" with twitchy women with fans, jumpy man with pointy hats and all. I couldn't make out if they were meant to be Chinese, Japanese or something else. They must've thought it was anything but Korean. Then we came back home the following year and saw a version by SF Ballet company. The scene was replaced by slow moving lion dancers in traditional Chinese dress. You would've been forgiven if you thought they just walked out of a festival in SF Chinatown. Needless to say, I was happy to be back home.
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If not from a racist standpoint, it's better to remove the cheap props at least. It's before and after is so much better from just an aesthetic standpoint. The mustache and hat looked cartoonish.
However, we should not let political correctness "correct" art. That's like saying we should omit Tchaikovsky's pizzicato instructions or flue solo because its "too chinese." How absurd.
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@Alex Now that sounds like something Chairman Mao would do. Yes, never touch the notes.
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This reminds of the contretemps over a white man voicing Apu on the Simpsons. Truly, identity politics is a bane of modern America. Speaking as someone of Asian descent, if you're so hypersensitive as to be incapable of enduring a benign caricature, then the problem is with you, not the rest of society.
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Performers in Vietnam-era VC straw hats, garish geisha kimonos and mismatched fu manchu outfits sums up what's wrong with this picture. When Asians and particularly Asian-Americans don't voice their collective objections to these dehumanizing racial stereotypes and instead defer the responsibility to others--out of some PC fear of being confrontational like Asian performer in the article, there are little incentives for the problem to be addressed. We don't have a MLK or Cesar Chavez who fought for African-Americans and Hispanics rights, respectively. The recent legal wranglings with Harvard admissions is another perfect illustration of this deferment. The problem is further compounded by social barriers to recruit and hire qualified professionals in the entertainment industry. Until people of Asian descent actively moderate how they are being portrayed via pop culture, Asian cultural misappropriation will continue unabated.
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It appears that "cultural appropriation" is a one way street in the opposite direction when it comes to Western Culture.
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Very good comments here...I admit to a bit of initial concern, as there seems to be a trend in recent years where directors infer they "know better" than the originators of some art productions; thus, they make changes in a more dictatorial or narcissistic manner. But here is a much more important argument - did the design and portrayal of the characters in the Tea dance contribute to or depend on, racial stereotypes more than classical design? It would appear so, and appreciate the sensitivity in making these changes. I however worry about instances of the dance itself changed and altering the interpretation overall, which takes away from the enjoyment as originally intended...that I object to more so.
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As a relatively young (20 y/o) person, I'd like to offer my perspective. A few commenters are lamenting the loss of the great 'classics' that modifying these scenes will surely cause. Beyond the standard arguments about how these scenes are racist and demeaning, I think these commenters should reconsider how these scenes were constructed in the first place. They were meant to portray what was (at the time) the 'popular' or standard conception of Chinese and Middle Eastern cultures. At the very least, the original choreography and costuming of "Tea" doesn't invoke the 'majestic Orient' or what have you–it seems stale, one-dimensional and outdated. Changing this scene isn't just about scrubbing it of anything deemed offensive, it's a method of updating, expanding, and intensifying the connection it has to real cultures.
As an avid ballet fan, I'm able to connect with this scene more now because it's as Balanchine intended it–an ode to Chinese dance and art as it exists *now* in the Western mind.
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@Claire that's the point of the scene in the play. The Nutcracker is the a child's fantasy and is not supposed to be interpreted as an accurate representation of anything.
Today in America everyone (in the media) gets offended by "harmful stereotypes that perpetuate a culture of oppression", and fail to see what a stereotype is: an exaggeration of characteristics commonly shared by a group of people. I make the case that no one gets offended by the stereotypical representation of a woman that a Drag Queen does (make up + long hair + high heels).
I would suggest to all these people who get offended so easily to look inside themselves and really try to understand why are they becoming upset? What is inside them that is triggered by these depictions?
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This change is long past due. As a ballet student, I wore yellowface and a Vietnamese hat in the "Chinese Dance" in a professional production of The Nutcracker. The costuming was not a flattering portrayal of Chinese culture and I'm embarrassed of the photos of me in it. I wish an adult had spoken up and put an end to it. Instead, the adults were helping us make our eye make-up "more Asian."
NYCB's production may have originated in a different time, but the racist tropes in the old costume choices and choreography continue to filter down across companies nationwide. The production I danced in originated in the 2000's, for instance. The tropes are distracting and adhering to them out of a sense of tradition is a lazy way out that shirks any responsibility for coming up with a creative solution.
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If it is a work of art, then it is alive and open to change. Otherwise it is an exhibit in a museum, lifeless behind glass. Make the changes.
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It is regrettable that today's opera, ballet and theatre productions reconstruct the classics according to political correctness rules that undermine the artistic quality their creators intended. Why do some Asian dancers, singers and actors seem to hate being portrayed as Asian? Why can't they see themselves as being simply dancers, singers and actors? What is wrong with being portrayed as Asian?
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@Lara What's wrong is that the image of these Chinese characters, which originated in 1954, is actually a disrespectful racial stereotype. It's demeaning. There were few Asian-American ballet dancers at that time. I do believe that George Balanchine and Barbara Karinska would have had made different choices were they alive today. There is no need to cling to the artistic decisions of that time. Changing the choreography is a different discussion.
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@Lara Duh, what's wrong with Whites making black faces portraying African-Americans in 1918 or 1950s Hollywood golden era during Segregation when everybody knows "their places" instead of all the stuffy PC nowaday in which one has to be subtle about what are classical "traditions"? I love Gone With the Wind but it doesn't mean I dig how the film stereotypes Blacks as noble yet simple folks. It's difficult to explain what's wrong if you can't appreciate the nuance between accurate humane portrayal of another culture and stereotypical depictions that, intentionally or not, distort and dehumanize it. In order to understand this, one must first grasp the basic tenets of human decency, compassion and humanity in order to see what's wrong.
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@DDD would it be better if they portrayed Chinese characters dressed in suits and ties, like Xi Jingpin? Or if they wore factory uniforms, like the millions of Chinese laborers? Or should they wear the Mao's Revolutionary Army uniform, which they wore in the 50's, when the choreography (not the play, which is made by a Russian composer who lived before the October Revolution) was composed?
How is it demeaning to portray elements of culture that have survived so many generations, that they come up to your imagination even when for decades no one dresses like that anymore? I fail to see the disrespect.
If we continue on this path of considering everything disrespectful, soon we will ban Ninja costumes in Halloween because they are disrespectful to the Japanese, and Asian kids will not be able to dress up as knights, should someone in Brighton UK be offended... Seriously...
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I noticed last year that "Tea" was different but couldn't put my finger on what was wrong.
If we are worried about Chinese sensibilities, and we might very well be, change the make-up and costumes, but don't tinker with the choreography. The dance was a disappointment.
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Two nights ago, I attended a performance of the Moscow Ballet’s performance of The Nutcracker, and was struck by the representations of various cultures, the Chinese segment appearing more than a little stereotypical. Now, I’m having an internal battle with myself whether this was not a comically choreographed caricature of Asian charm or a deliberate perpetuation of a racist slight. Spain was represented by a flamenco theme, India by Kama Sutric gymnastics, Russia (unsurprisingly) by heroic Cossacks, but China was dubiously danced by yellow clad ballerinas scurrying around the stage reminiscent of the rodents that surrounded the Rat King.
How did race ever debase the arts? Are we looking too closely to extract offence where none is intended, or have the arts been suborned to cause maximum offence to the cultural conscience? Is offensiveness an art form in itself, an exercise in free expression, or is it a nasty bastion where prejudices can hold sway? The trouble is that the bigot can defend him/herself with claims of free expression while the delicate among us can wail in insult, neither with a coup de grace at hand. We may be looking too hard at the arts or not hard enough. Whichever way the pendulum swings, the arts will survive because it is anarchistic by chemistry and will defy the status quo. If we reject caricatures, then, logically, we should consider how we really are because the arts will take note and describe us quite well, likely in inevitable caricature.
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@Marcus Brant and it's not like China doesn't have a rich history of dance to draw from. Bring in the ladies with ribbon sleeves please?
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That’s true, of course, Camille, but I’ve never seen Chinese dance ridicule the West.
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Or do something completely different... the New Ballet Ensemble in Memphis has done NutRemix for over ten years. It is a reimagining of the classic Nutcracker as an urban US story, rather than Emprie Russian. It blends classical ballet with hip-hop dance.
http://www.newballet.org/events/nut-remix-2018/
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@Jim
I buy tickets for "Nutcracker" because I love the music and Balanchine's choreography. If I didn't, I wouldn't shlep on the subway and go. If the NYCB decided not to put it on, I would not go. Hip-hop? Eh.
(And I'm fine with others saying, "Ballet? Eh.")
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People are giving too much power to stereotypes. It is a play. A play, like any work of fiction, is a false representation of reality. In the case in question we are talking about a choreography to the accompanying music composed by a Russian in the late 1800's, who took elements of the then considered musical tones of different regions and incorporated them to the play.
The costumes and movements of the choreography are based on what people wore and how they performed back then. The gestures for the Chinese character are obviously based on the Chinese Opera with its hand gestures, as they would be seen from the perspective of a child.
I am appalled by the lack of depth in the analysis and comprehension of the play, and to be frank, with the patronizing assumption that people get offended by others portraying them. I have yet to meet the first native Spanish speaker who gets offended by the terrible accent that Al Pacino does in Scar Face.
A problem with the current American way to interpret art is that you think it is supposed to represent reality. I mean, seriously? Is this what they are teaching in Art School today? That movies are representations of reality? We got over this view in the early 20th Century...
Instead on focusing on whether the character has a mustache or not, focus on doing a good performance, or you'll end up killing art.
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@L. T. Ferrara
"The costumes and movements of the choreography are based on what people wore and how they performed back then."
Which people? Which "back then"? Do we choose 19th century Russian interpretation of a Chinese dance? Or a 1950's American interpretation of Chinese dance?
I don't think anyone has a problem with deriving choreography and costumes from Chinese Opera itself. The problem is that mid-century American interpretations packed in a lot of elements that were decidedly outside the realm of Chinese dance and firmly in the realm of harmful stereotypes. Why wouldn't we want to revisit that interpretation?
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@Susan The "19th Century Russian interpretation" has to do with the tonal and melodic characteristics that the composer tries to emulate, which under today's standards would be considered "cultural appropriation".
"The 1950's American interpretation"? What is that supposed to mean? Are you more comfortable with the Chinese wearing European tailored clothes as they do today? Is that less "harmful"?
I think your gripe has more to do with your perception of what 1950's America is in your imagination, than with the choreography.
Chinese wore that type of clothing for centuries, just before the Maoist Revolution got rid of any vestige of the old China. Granted the "Big Leap Forward" did't take place in the 50's, but its roots are there.
So, harmful how? Is representing a Geisha harmful to Japanese women? Is Woody from Toy Story a stereotype of the Texan cowboy? Is the depiction of a woman done by a Drag Queen harmful and offensive to women?
Stereotypes aren't harmful. They are just stereotypes. They convey simplified and exaggerated aspects of something so that the broad category is grasped. Drag Queens take some elements of what women do (long hair + make up + high heels) and exploit that. Real women are not harmed by Drag Queens (are they?). Is it harmful for French to portray them as cheese lovers that love painting, or are you paying homage tho the fact that they have an world-class cuisine and that in the late 1800's Paris was the place to be if you were an artist?
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@L. T. Ferrara
I think it's disingenuous to say that stereotypes aren't harmful. You listed some positive French stereotypes, but what if I countered and said the French are riddled with syphilis and smell like B.O.? It's a different situation.
The Asian elements included in the 1954 Balanchine version, the one that was *just* changed in 2017, are not all positive. As just one example, they used a wig to imitate a hairstyle that was violently forced on Chinese folks under the Qing dynasty and paired it with aggressively happy choreography. At best that costume illustrates how sheltered the ballet world was in the 1950's.
I'm not saying the Chinese/Tea dance needs to be cut or that the costumes and choreography should not be Chinese. I'm saying that we can update *what* aspects of Chinese dance and culture are simplified and exaggerated in the variation. Choose the art-making over the B.O.-having, to bring it back to the French example.
Another commenter mentioned the San Francisco Ballet's version of this dance. I've seen it too, and I can tell you it is fabulous and fantastical and undeniably Chinese in its musicality, art direction, costuming. It's available on YouTube to watch. Google it!
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