How do we make classical ballet more culturally inclusive? How do we start the racial equity conversation in performing arts practices? How can we make dance productions simultaneously politically correct and admirable? How can updating ballet fight racism in the United States? At this turbulent moment of advocating the anti-Asian hate movement, Final Bow for Yellowface answers these critical questions. In addition, New York City Ballet soloist Georgina Pazcoguin, and arts administrator and educator Phil Chan, established the website yellowface.org to document their activism of anti-racism in the dance world. They encourage all companies to sign their inclusion pledge in support of the movement. Chan's book provides a roadmap of his journey in championing Asian representation in the U.S. ballet world. By focusing on portrayals of Asian characters in different versions of The Nutcracker and Le Chant du Rossignol, Chan documents his and Pazcoguin's steps toward increasing the prominence of diverse voices in ballet. Although ballets have been updated for centuries, he still encounters strong resistance when changing racist parts. By offering practical suggestions for ballet companies and artists striving to make efforts at inclusion, Chan deploys the ignored racial conversations in staging ballet. His tool kits set out a basic framework and principles that can help people of any race examine misrepresentations in ballets.
Chan argues that ballet is constantly evolving, and tradition can be reshaped, as explored in several case studies. Although the book focuses on the United States, the phenomenon resonates effectively worldwide. As chronicled in part 1, “The Nutcracker: Caricature Versus Character,” Chan's journey began after New York City Ballet's artistic director Peter Martins invited him to consult on updating the Chinese dance in George Balanchine's The Nutcracker. The Chinese “Tea” dance choreography includes embarrassing chopstick-like pointed fingers that Chan points out are nonexistent in traditional Chinese dance. Using archival and notation resources, he analyzes how Asians have been marginalized by being objectified as either exotic or threatening. Chapter 2 explores caricature as distortion, exaggeration, a joke, and two-dimensional portrayal, in contrast to character, which conveys nuance and depth with empathy. Caricature is said to be used as a realistic criticism of society rather than a means of keeping inferior people down, which occurs with Yellowface, historically played by white people. Accordingly, yellowface.org facilitates continued conversation and brings to light problematic works.
Chapter 3 delves further into caricature through analysis of The Nutcracker productions by Pacific Northwest Ballet, Ballet West, and Mark Morris. In the process, Chan claims that it makes sense to use caricature if the whole work is a satire and every character is a caricature. However, caricature is still a questionable strategy here when satire is based on a stereotype. Chapters 4 and 5 explain how the project expanded its influence internationally through newspaper exposure. Ballet companies in Canada, the UK, and Australia signed an anti-stereotype pledge committing to implementing change. Obstacles arose with some people not acknowledging issues of inequity or even refusing change. Dance critic Alastair Macaulay questioned how to deal with the Orientalism in the Arabian dance after Chan's update of the Chinese dance, since it poses similar problems. Chan engages with Macaulay's point about the highly sexualized and exotic portrayal of Arab and Muslim culture in the Arabian dance. In striving to create a universal methodology and tools for other people to advocate against misrepresentations of their own culture, practical solutions are offered for analyzing portrayals of race in dance. Beyond choreography, how can performance challenge the structure of choreography? Pazcoguin reveals an alternative to how dancers can be attributed agency, using the roots of belly dancing to empower women to express their sexuality in Arabian dance rather than conveying a presentational and passive sexualized object.
Chapter 6 maps the caricature of Asians in different cultures: examining how shifts in positionality and contexts can cause different impacts, seen in the National Ballet of China's The Nutcracker. However, the issue of whether the choreography manifests as cultural appropriation, or can be considered as appreciation and cultural assimilation, can be debated because racial dynamics do not disappear. Some challenging issues arise in the book, such as whether Orientalism is replicated in how East and West are purposely distinguished, and how to define the relationship between cultural assimilation and racial power. When ballet is situated in a non-Western culture, as Chan discusses in the section on the Chinese version of the ballet, such relationships are complicated, requiring careful interrogation of the connections between borrowing and cultural appropriation. At the end, Chan brilliantly considers the complexity of reenactment in performing arts. He derives the idea of keeping classical work alive from his performing experience, and significantly considers the risks an artist takes when reviving works. However, the inclusion of research on reenactment as political lacks dance studies' references that would enhance the arguments, seen in scholarship by Mark Franko (2020) and André Lepecki (2010).
In part 2, “Le Chant du Rossignol: Appropriation Versus Appreciation,” Chan introduces Balanchine's lost choreography of Le Chant du Rossignol, staged in 2019 by Ballet West. He shares his conversations with students and consulting experience in the production about a Chinese emperor and a nightingale. Culture is not static, and respecting culture does not mean racial segregation; rather, sharing culture is welcome. However, in Le Chant, there are certain Orientalist and caricatured choreographic elements. When historians and choreographers Millicent Hodson and Kenneth Archer are invited to reconstruct the production, they insist on the historical accuracy of the work. Chan argues that a work of entertainment should engage with contemporary audiences. The authenticity of history and the authenticity of culture are paradoxical here and can be traced deeper through this case study. What are the “real” characteristic Chinese mannerisms? In the book, Russian and Spanish dance in ballets are considered as authentic and based on primary sources. Both styles are constantly revised in choreography, therefore diminishing the significance of claims of authenticity here. To what extent can we still be persuasive when arguing against racist stereotypes without relying on a constructed authenticity? The chapter ends with ten effective suggestions for companies consulting with cultural experts.
Chapter 8 introduces Karole Armitage's exploration of cross-cultural ideas to demonstrate the ideal creative process for artists: do the research, find collaborators in the related community, and credit their resources. In chapter 9, Chan's “cultural integrity grid” examines different works in the spectrum of caricature or character, insider experience, or outsider fantasy depiction. I value Chan's discussion of hiring Asian artists here, which is a critical step toward employment diversity in commissioning new productions. Chapter 10 moves from the Le Chant journey to other provocations: to appreciate Chinese culture rather than using orientalism at the expense and exoticization of Chinese arts. Chan advocates for artists to focus on impact, inviting comments and insights from the Asian American community when creating works.
In the last part of the book, the ephemerality of ballet is readdressed, including aspects of its evolution encompassing body types, choreography, music, scores, and stage settings. Additionally, Chan argues against white dominance in American ballet and for it to embrace new world hybrid ideas. Ballet constructed as a microcosm of a greater society hints at a comprehensive perspective.
Chan's narrative is vivid and humorous, drawing on personal experiences and historical contexts to frame the issues. A practical grid helps the reader unpack any performance and distinguish whether it uses character or caricature, and appropriation or appreciation. The book stimulates some philosophical questions about ballet and politics, offering an initial point for further engagement with a range of theoretical considerations. His consultations challenge companies to question their revival of problematic productions, rather than encourage them to develop new creations, and advocate for prioritizing analysis of historical context over historical accuracy as a primary principle. All in all, Final Bow for Yellowface is a valuable text for a broader readership, while it opens possibilities for future conversations with other dance and performance scholars. Significantly, dance practitioners and artists can understand and reflect on their creative choices in a larger cultural field.
