Orientalism in Ballet - A Timeline

For almost 400 years, European choreographers and their white American counterparts have depicted peoples and cultures East of Venice on the ballet stage. Distorted by colonial agendas and a lack of contact with actual Asian and Middle Eastern North African peoples, ballet choreographers have projected ideas about sex, magic, savagery, slavery, and other social taboos onto the orient.

The prevalence of orientalism in ballet shows us that it is not only a pillar of ballet itself, but it must be replaced with authentic choreographic voices from Asians if we truly want to make our art form more inclusive and equitable. We cannot expect Asians to truly embrace ballet as an art form and feel welcome if depictions of their culture through an outdated Eurocentric lens prevails.

This timeline is explored in detail in Phil Chan’s upcoming book, Shades of the Orient (2021). Add your name to our list to be notified as soon as it is available for pre-order.