“It moved from caricature to a character that was not offensive and that was approached with respect,” Walker said. Pacific Northwest Ballet corps de ballet dancer Noah Martzall as the Cricket in a scene from George Balanchine’s “The Nutcracker.” (Photo © Angela Sterling)
Because “The Nutcracker” isn’t just the industry’s cash cow - it’s the gateway ballet. That’s the big worry, that these stereotypes will put off newer and younger audiences.
“Because if an audience comes and all they see is yellowface instead of the dancing, they will leave unsatisfied and they will miss the beauty of the dance.” “We’re not trying to cancel ‘The Nutcracker.’ We’re trying to keep it alive for everybody,” Chan said. But during a pandemic that’s led to an increase in violence against Asian Americans, there’s a strengthening call to change the way Chinese people are depicted in the ballet’s second act. Safety precautions are a big priority at productions this year. Many of them have started dancing again just in time for the annual moneymaker, “The Nutcracker,” which accounts for about half of companies’ annual box office sales. Like many arts institutions that rely on in-person performances, ballet companies have had a tough time during the pandemic. His first mission has been helping companies revamp “The Nutcracker,” one of ballet’s best-known productions. Today, Chan is the co-founder of Final Bow for Yellowface, an organization working since 2017 to change outdated representations of Asians in ballet. Do you really want to dedicate your time and your energy and your life to this?'” “And, you know, at the end of the show, he looks at me and he says, ‘Do you really wanna do this? That is all they will see you as.
Phil Chan is Chinese-American and remembers seeing “The Nutcracker” as a kid and telling his dad that he wanted to be in the ballet someday. And the costumes often involve Fu Manchu moustaches, exaggerated eye makeup and sometimes even yellowface. The choreography traditionally includes shuffling feet, bobbing heads and pointing fingers. There’s the Sugarplum Fairy, Marzipan and Tea - which in some versions is called Chinese. The second half of “The Nutcracker” takes place in the Land of Sweets, with an “It’s a Small World” hodgepodge of characters.
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