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

[LACAD]

3 hours ago, Henry said:

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. 

 

 

 

 

This is true, but it’s also true that these dolls or toys the dancers portray are themselves based on people. Primarily in an overtly racialised way. 

 

And while it may be accurate to the time period, is there really a need to retain these elements seeing as they add nothing to the storyline (particularly in the case of a popcorn ballet like the nutcracker)? 

[Tango Dancer]

1 hour ago, LACAD said:

This is true, but it’s also true that these dolls or toys the dancers portray are themselves based on people. Primarily in an overtly racialised way. 

 

And while it may be accurate to the time period, is there really a need to retain these elements seeing as they add nothing to the storyline (particularly in the case of a popcorn ballet like the nutcracker)? 

 

Definitely times have changed and what is acceptable has changed.  I think it's important for people, when putting on a old work to consider whether they're still relevant and necessary.  I went to a Russian company doing Nutcracker in the pre-Covid times and I was quite unpleasantly surprised that they still had the "black face" character.  It just felt like no regard had been had for the fact that things have changed and that's not a thing people are comfortable with.  I would imagine any BAME people in the audience might find it decidedly alienating and uncomfortable.  If that's your first experience of ballet (and Nutcracker often is peoples' first experience of ballet), are you going to want to come back?

 

Ballet is a living art form, not just replicating the past but seeking to improve it and learn from it.  

[alison]

There's a blackface character in Nutcracker?! 😮  Unless it's Zwaarte Piet, who accompanies Sinterklaas - and I'm not sure whether he's actually black-skinned or just sooty from all those chimneys.

[Tango Dancer]

9 hours ago, alison said:

There's a blackface character in Nutcracker?! 😮  Unless it's Zwaarte Piet, who accompanies Sinterklaas - and I'm not sure whether he's actually black-skinned or just sooty from all those chimneys.

 

Yes in the scene where Drosselmeyer produced the dolls for the party, after Harlequin and Columbine the next doll was unfortunately in blackface in the version I saw which made me wince rather.  I think the character is called the Moor. I don't think UK companies use that particular character and having seen it I can quite see why. There appears to be significant variation in which toys / dolls appear in that scene.    

[maryrosesatonapin]

I didn't notice any blacked-up toys in the recent Bolshoi screening.  My partner is half German and we sometimes play a card game at Christmas called 'Black Peter' in which you have to mark your face with finger-marks of soot (not all over, just several specific points), so I always assumed that character was something to do with chimneys....

[LACAD]

When I lived in the Netherlands as a child the dialogue about Zwaartje Piet was that he was covered in soot, they even tried introducing a multicoloured version (this was the mid 00’s). However historically he was a moor and a very typically racist caricature of one at that. 
 

Accordingly; Dutch National now portray him as covered in soot. The moor Drosselmeyer doll is from the Mariinsky’s version, I’m not sure if they’ve still kept him in blackface though.