[WEBCAST] MOCA TALKS with Phil Chan | Final Bow For Yellowface: Dancing Between Intention and Impact

About the Book

Who would have guessed that one short conversation with New York City Ballet Artistic Director Peter Martins would change the course of how we approach America’s favorite holiday ballet, and serve as a catalyst for how we talk about race in America?

Phil Chan, arts advocate and co-founder of Final Bow for Yellowface, chronicles his journey navigating conversations around race, representation, and inclusion arising from issues in presenting one short dance—the Chinese variation from The Nutcracker. Armed with a new vocabulary, he recounts his process and pitfalls advising Salt Lake City’s Ballet West in the presentation of a lost Balanchine work from 1925, Le Chant du Rossignol.

Written through the eyes of an advocate on the front lines of these conversations, Chan encounters orientalism, cultural appropriation, yellowface, and witnesses firsthand the continuing evolution of an Old World aristocratic dance form in a New World democratic environment. As a storyteller, Chan presents a mix of dance and Chinese American history, personal anecdotes, and best practices for any professional arts organization to use for navigating issues around race, while outlining an essential path American ballet must take in order for our beloved art form to stay alive for an increasingly diverse 21st century audience. The book is published by Yellow Peril Press, with a general release on March 27, 2020.

About the Author

Phil Chan is a co-founder of Final Bow for Yellowface, and most recently served as the Director of Programming for IVY, connecting young professionals with leading American museums and performing arts institutions. He is a graduate of Carleton College and an alumnus of the Ailey School. As a writer, he served as the Executive Editor for FLATT Magazine and contributed to Dance Europe Magazine, Dance Magazine, and The Huffington Post. He was the founding General Manager of the Buck Hill Skytop Music Festival, and was the General Manager for Armitage Gone! Dance and Youth America Grand Prix. He served multiple years on the National Endowment for the Arts dance panel and the Jadin Wong Award panel presented by the Asian American Arts Alliance, and is on the advisory committee for the Parsons Dance Company. He also serves on the Leaders of Color steering committee at Americans for the Arts. He is thrilled to be a part of New York City Center Encore’s upcoming revival of “Thoroughly Modern Millie.”