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City Ballet KJ Takahashi, who starred in the Tea scene of this year’s “The Nutcracker,” which opens the day after Thanksgiving, said he welcomes the changes. Takahashi, who is Japanese-American, said the revisions made him feel more included. Still, he said there was more that could be done and he found the costumes dated and unreal.
“Small things make a big difference,” he said. “We can dig even deeper into accuracy.”
The Colorado Ballet staged a “Nutcracker” this month with new costumes, including the Tea scene. The dancers dress in a variety of colors instead of the traditional red and gold outfits. A dragon appearing in the scene is covered with images of Asian street food.
Some companies are completely overhauling the Tea scene and believe more can be done to resonate with modern audiences.
Since 2015 Peter Boal, artistic director of the Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle, has been trying to soften Asian stereotypes in “The Nutcracker.” But when Boal saw the rise of anti-Asian hatred this year, he set out to do more. Time changes for opening night on November 26.
He had long wanted to add a cricket, a symbol of good luck in China, to the “Nutcracker.” It just got permission from the Balanchine Trust, which owns the rights to the version the company made a few weeks ago. (Trust found the early sketches very bug-like, Boal said.)
During a visit to the Land of Sweets, the cricket now emerges from a rolling box on stage and performs a series of acrobatic moves, much like the choreography in the original movie, where a man dressed in stereotypical Chinese clothing emerges from the box.
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