Scottish Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” and “racial stereotypes”?

[Geoff]

This article about changes to Scottish Ballet’s Christmas Nutcracker might be of interest:

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10168989/Ballet-bosses-change-Nutcracker-racial-stereotypes.html

 

What do people think?

[Jan McNulty]

The Scotsman’s article about the changes was included in yesterday’s (Friday) links.

[Guest oncnp]

Related (kind of) ..... The Times is reporting The Berlin State Ballet has banned Nutcracker entirely over Chinese stereotypes. 

 

Berlin State Ballet bans The Nutcracker over Chinese stereotypes | World | The Times   (paywall)

 

The Berlin State ballet is denying it Staatsballett Berlin (staatsballett-berlin.de)

[Jan McNulty]

32 minutes ago, oncnp said:

Related (kind of) ..... The Times is reporting The Berlin State Ballet has banned Nutcracker entirely over Chinese stereotypes. 

 

Berlin State Ballet bans The Nutcracker over Chinese stereotypes | World | The Times   (paywall)

 

The Berlin State ballet is denying it Staatsballett Berlin (staatsballett-berlin.de)

 

Assuming you mean the British Times, if you register (at no cost) you can read 2 articles per week.

 

 

[Emeralds]

The Times are really going downhill! Staatsballett Berlin has a magnificent Nutcracker which is a reconstruction of the original. I’ve been watching the pas de deux over and over. Yes, they’re not doing it this year - just like the Royal Ballet didn’t do Nutcracker in 2019-20. They’re having a look at their Act 2 dances after feedback from the public. NYCB did the same and modified Balanchine’s production. Sir Peter Wright did the same examination and altering of the Chinese Dance for his own production, which was something he himself wanted to do for years, he said in an interview for the souvenir programme. I think the modifications are an improvement. Life goes on and if changes are positive and result in better choreography and appearances, it’s great. 

 

The Scottish Ballet having a female Drosselmeyer would be very interesting and one I’d like to see. Anyone know if any company has ever fielded a female (godmother?) Drosselmeyer? I’ve read about and seen so many Nutcrackers  over the years but that’s a first as far as I know. We already have a female Hamlet, gender switches in Twelfth Night, etc.

 

I think many of the classics, if not performed with integrity or sensitivity, can be offensive in some way: the gypsies in Don Quixote, Alain in La Fille mal Gardee, the Moor in Petrushka, etc. Examination of the repertory is a good thing. 

Edited November 28, 2021 by Emeralds

[Guest oncnp]

related..... 

 

Not a moment too soon, this was the year that ballet 'woke up' (telegraph.co.uk)

 

and, as always, the comments are just as interesting....

Edited December 12, 2021 by oncnp

[Dawnstar]

Quote

And at the end of November, the Royal Ballet revived its own, gorgeous Nutcracker at Covent Garden, complete with a newly revised Arabian Dance: pared down to just one male-female couple, there is now no possible sense of a scantily clad concubine being passed between leering men.

 

I can't say I've ever thought of the Arabian dance as being like that. It seems more like a description of the number in Manon Act II scene I.

[Lizbie1]

Well at least it's an improvement on the 3-women-to-1-man harem line previously trotted out.

[RosiesDream]

You know, in that case they better get rid of the Caterpillar in Alice In Wonderland. I don't want to offend anyone, but people are offended by this? They must have the lowest of "Offence Thresholds". Very sad.

[Rob S]

I'd love to know why in Act 1 the child versions of the various national dancers still have a Chinese dancer with umbrella and movements similar to the now scrapped version of the Chinese dance.

[LinMM]

I suppose it depends whether danced straight ( nothing wrong with having an umbrella to dance with) or as a stereotype deliberately meant to make you laugh at that character. 

[Emeralds]

16 minutes ago, Rob S said:

I'd love to know why in Act 1 the child versions of the various national dancers still have a Chinese dancer with umbrella and movements similar to the now scrapped version of the Chinese dance.

I did wonder that too. Thought they could have made a couple of new child size costumes to complement the men’s ones in 2016 when it got changed. The new choreography is also much better- the leaps and turns are more exciting. I used to find the old choreography really tedious till the lift at the end. To be fair to Sir Peter, most other versions around the world were the same. ENB and SFB have nice ones where they’re actually doing something interesting. And now RB has an interesting one that fits the quality of Tchaikovsky’s music. 

Edited December 13, 2021 by Emeralds

[Scheherezade]

1 hour ago, RosiesDream said:

You know, in that case they better get rid of the Caterpillar in Alice In Wonderland. I don't want to offend anyone, but people are offended by this? They must have the lowest of "Offence Thresholds". Very sad.

 

There are a lot of very easily offended people out there, Rosie'sDream, and many of them offended on other people's behalf. The age of just getting on with things and not taking things personally has been consigned to history, which, right now, means 'cancelled'.

[LinMM]

It was the ENB’s Arabian dance In Nutcracker that made me feel uncomfortable. Perhaps they’ve changed that now though. 
 

[AnnabelCharles]

7 hours ago, Scheherezade said:

 

There are a lot of very easily offended people out there, Rosie'sDream, and many of them offended on other people's behalf. The age of just getting on with things and not taking things personally has been consigned to history, which, right now, means 'cancelled'.

It's not about being easily offended or not being willing to get on with things and not take things personally - it's about sensitivity to changing attitudes and awareness that some culturally embedded assumptions, practices and portrayals are offensive to some people and should be questioned, examined and if necessary, changed. 'Cancelled' like 'woke' has become a way of suggesting that such changes are somehow oppressive of free speech and common sense. People are entitled to regret the changes to the Arabian dance - but others also have the right to be pleased to see the 'harem' format replaced, without being belittled as 'easily offended'.

[Scheherezade]

I couldn't agree more, Annabel, that any assumption, practice or portrayal should be open to question and examination, and everyone is entitled to hold their own views, as much upon this matter as any other. It is only by examination of conflicting views and practices and open debate as to their merits and demerits that we are able to learn from past mistakes and, with the benefit of hindsight, to reach informed decisions as to what is acceptable and what is not.

 

Cultural sensitivity is, quite rightly, something of which we are all increasingly aware, but I cannot see how the RB Arabian dance, which to my mind was no more than a valid interpretation of the music, crossed the line of what was and was not acceptable, nor can my female friends of Arabian or Middle Eastern nationality and heritage. Rather the contrary. They have uniformly expressed the view that it is hardly the place of those who do not share their heritage to swell the ranks of the naysayers and call for change.

 

For what it's worth, and purely in answer to your comment, I would suggest that the wholly unacceptable levels of trolling, abuse, death threats and threats to the personal safety of the families of those brave enough to challenge the prophets of 'woke' is evidence enough of the fact that freedom of speech is seriously under threat, but I do not wish to turn this topic into a political commentary and will leave it at that.

[LinMM]

Which Arabian Dance are you referring to Scheherazade? ENB or RB or other? 

I can’t remember now when current ENB Nutcracker opened but I saw it in the first week it opened though not the very first night and it’s some time ago now. 
Im pretty sanguine on the whole but their Arabian dance made me genuinely feel uncomfortable and thought out of place in a ballet like the Nutcracker!!! so the context was important. 
As I’ve never really liked this production of the Nutcracker anyway with all the hot air ballon stuff etc. I haven’t seen it for some years now so of course don't know if changes have been made since. 
Some things are cross cultural in the end so don’t necessarily feel only people from one particular culture are “entitled” to feel offended!! Unless I’ve misunderstood you? 
I don’t have a problem with the RB Arabian dance as it is just that a dance between two people and not suggesting anything else so feels okay in the context of the Nutcracker. 

[Jan McNulty]

If I as an individual have never felt discriminated against for race, gender, religion or anything else then I cannot understand the feelings of someone who has.

 

I had never even thought about the stereotypical characterisation of the Chinese dance in most Nutcrackers I have seen until I read an article written by an American Asian dancer at the start of the Final Bow for Yellow Face Campaign.  It was a salutary awakening and gave me much food for thought and now I am conscious of it all the time.

 

I have found the Arabian dance in a couple of ENB Nutcrackers uncomfortable and offensive (as well as not liking the overall production).  I haven't seen the latest RB iteration of the Arabian dance but the BRB version still has one lady with 3 gentlemen.  I don't particularly care for it, mainly because I really dislike that particular piece of music.

[maryrosesatonapin]

Interestingly, the beautiful music accompanying this controversial Arabian dance is actually a Georgian lullaby, not from the Middle East. It was the furthest east that Tchaikovsky's musical knowledge extended.

 

[Scheherezade]

LinnMM, I think that the ENB Arabian dance with the cracking whip will have made many people feel uncomfortable. I haven't seen the production for years since I do not particularly like it either but I was under the impression that it had been modified some time ago, largely because of the potentially offensive overtones. Interestingly, the criticisms levelled against the ENB production seemed to centre around the suggestion that their Arabian dance might be seen to condone violence against women in general rather than the depiction of cultural mores more commonly manifest in an 'Arabian Nights' context. I do not feel that the content of the RB version can be said to be comparable and, as I mentioned above, my friends from Saudi, the UAE and the Middle East generally (all of whom are well educated with European values) have never felt uncomfortable with the RB depiction but do feel uncomfortable when others who do not share their heritage take it upon themselves to complain.

[LinMM]

I’ve been discriminated against once because of religion .... and lost a boyfriend because of it!!! Long time ago now though so I’m over it lol!! That was not belonging to the right church at the time......and gender not so much for job in my particular experience

but for females being equally valued as men ( not equal to...equally valued as) 

Im not sure what you mean though Jan 🤔

Are you saying that I ( or anyone) can’t feel embarrassed or angry or both if they see a friend of a different race say being verbally attacked? 
If anybody saw the original ENB Arabian Dance they would know where I’m coming from I think!!! The hint of suggestion that women are under the control of the male forcibly is what I mean by cross cultural ...it isn’t exclusive to Eastern cultures. 

 

 

 

[Jan McNulty]

56 minutes ago, LinMM said:

 

Are you saying that I ( or anyone) can’t feel embarrassed or angry or both if they see a friend of a different race say being verbally attacked? 

 

 

I'm not saying that at all.  I think I can empathise but I cannot understand exactly how the person is feeling.  What I was clumsily trying to say is that because the Chinese dance in many of the Nutcracker productions I have seen use stereotypical characterisations without, until the last few years, many comments being made I just hadn't realised how offensive it could be.  I didn't realise that Asian people could find it offensive.

 

I myself have never felt discriminated against even if perhaps I have been so I can only try and imagine what it must feel like to experience every day.

[Ian Macmillan]

Might it now be time to simply accept that the Company has made changes and leave it at that?  Please.

[LinMM]

I don’t think you were being clumsy at all Jan it’s just perhaps understanding that you can probably never truly walk in another shoes ....as you said ....but being able to empathise ...just as another human being....can go a pretty long way to understanding others predicaments and sentiments. 
I really like the music to the Arabian piece myself I think it’s quite atmospheric and even a bit hypnotic ...so the thought of it being a Georgian lullaby does make sense! 

[Tango Dancer]

On 12/12/2021 at 20:23, Dawnstar said:

 

I can't say I've ever thought of the Arabian dance as being like that. It seems more like a description of the number in Manon Act II scene I.

 

Yes it's never occurred me to as being like a concubine passed between leering men.  I always assumed she was a queen and they were her courtiers paying tribute.  That said it's been ages since I've seen Nutcracker and I can't remember having seen the ENB version at all. 

 

I must say I really like Bolshoi version here which has some lovely classical Indian dance elements.  It's not particularly Arabian (speaking as someone who does Egyptian dance) but I love the choreography they've used.  I should say none of the "Arabian" dances any of the ballets do are in any way similar to what someone in Egypt or North Africa or Turkey would dance (speaking as a bellydance student of 10 years experience).  

 

 

Edited December 14, 2021 by Tango Dancer

[LinMM]

I quite like that one! 

 

Do you do the full Raqs Sharqi version of Egyptian dance ....a la Suraya Hilal? 

I saw her perform at Sadlers Wells ...really beautiful dancer. 
Hardly see any really great exponents of this Dance in UK these days ....it’s usually a more western form of “belly dancing” which is taught. 

 

[maryrosesatonapin]

1 hour ago, Tango Dancer said:

 

Yes it's never occurred me to as being like a concubine passed between leering men.  I always assumed she was a queen and they were her courtiers paying tribute.  That said it's been ages since I've seen Nutcracker and I can't remember having seen the ENB version at all. 

 

I must say I really like Bolshoi version here which has some lovely classical Indian dance elements.  It's not particularly Arabian (speaking as someone who does Egyptian dance) but I love the choreography they've used.  I should say none of the "Arabian" dances any of the ballets do are in any way similar to what someone in Egypt or North Africa or Turkey would dance (speaking as a bellydance student of 10 years experience).  

 

 

I like this one - it seems reminiscent of Shiva.

[Tango Dancer]

19 minutes ago, LinMM said:

I quite like that one! 

 

Do you do the full Raqs Sharqi version of Egyptian dance ....a la Suraya Hilal? 

I saw her perform at Sadlers Wells ...really beautiful dancer. 
Hardly see any really great exponents of this Dance in UK these days ....it’s usually a more western form of “belly dancing” which is taught. 

 

 

I do more Egyptian cabaret style which is the more westernised style taught most widely over here although I've done workshops in other styles like Persian and Turkish.  On Sunday I did a traditional Nubian dance workshop livestreamed from Egypt.    

 

If you want to see some traditional bellydance there's a lady called Zara (British but based in Cairo) who does a monthly online show (hafla) with a lot of Egyptian artists. The next one is on Saturday night if you want to come along.   Costumes optional. Online Bellydance Zoom Hafla | Zara's Zouk (zaraszouk.com)

[LinMM]

Does your group perform? 

[Quintus]

On 14/12/2021 at 19:42, LinMM said:

Do you do the full Raqs Sharqi version of Egyptian dance ....a la Suraya Hilal? 

I saw her perform at Sadlers Wells ...really beautiful dancer. 
 

 

We saw her dance there too, a long, long time ago - she was absolutely phenomenal. I remember after a certain point the orchestra was playing to her movements, rather than her dancing to their music, like an all-body conductor..

[LinMM]

I was trying to remember who I attended classes with in Brighton ...got to be over ten years ago now and I only did it for one year. 
She was a lovely dancer too and so enthusiastic! 
Im pretty sure her name was Carina Westling and she had trained with Suraya Hilal ( if I’ve got the teachers name correct) 

I was fascinated by it and it’s a good antidote to ballet ....but harder to do I think if you’ve been trained more in classical ballet because it uses the body in such an entirely different way. 
I don’t mind “belly dancing” and each group seems to have their own particular style but it was the more classical Hilal style that I felt most attracted to. 

[maryrosesatonapin]

Having seen the Bolshoi version at the cinema this afternoon, I note that their Chinese dancers are actually wind-up toys.  I'm not sure whether that makes it more or less racist, but they were very charming and danced brilliantly!

[Henry]

Though, it needs to be remembered that in the Nutcracker, as in Petrushka, the characters are toys, puppets, dolls and not people.  Colombine and Petrushka are not examples of "White Face".  The Nutcracker is not referencing Chinese people in the "Chinese Dance".  It was referencing Meissen porcelain nodding dolls. 

 

There are other ballets where this does not apply.