May 3, 2023
"We (enlightened moderns) must recognize that ballet and colonialism have historically gone hand in hand, and with that in mind, to remember from whose perspective ballet is seen as a (universal) “high art,” a universal art form, against which all other arts must be compared. From a different perspective, ballet looks like a European (“ethnic”) dance form that evolved from court dances made to enforce social order and hierarchy. Louis XIV of France literally staged elaborate ballets where his courtiers had to dance around him based on their position in court. Centering of one kind or another is baked into the art form as it is today."
-- Banishing Orientalism: Dancing between Exotic and Familiar by Phil Chan, Michele Chase