Our story
ABOUT FACE spotlights Georgina Pazcoguin and Phil Chan as they challenge the dance world to rid ballet of offensive stereotypes of Asians and make ballet more inclusive.
Gina, a soloist with the New York City Ballet, and Phil, an author, producer and choreographer, launch the global Final Bow for Yellowface movement. They post an online pledge and ask dancers to jettison offensive “yellowface” caricatures from ballets like The Nutcracker and La Bayadère. Hundreds from around the world sign the pledge.
We watch in real time as the Scottish Ballet updates its version of the Chinese dance to both high praise and stinging backlash.
Phil takes on a bigger challenge of reimagining a full-length ballet: the problematic La Bayadére. Working with dancers at Indiana University, he boldly transports the story from ancient India to a Hollywood studio in the 1920s.
​
ABOUT FACE vividly shows the tension and risks the two artists endure as they push an art form—created for the entertainment of kings and queens hundreds of years ago—to more authentically reflect the American experience today.
Final Bow for Yellowface Pledge
​
“I love ballet as an art form, and acknowledge that to achieve diversity among our artists, audiences, donors, volunteers, students, and staff requires inclusion. I am committed to eliminating outdated and offensive stereotypes of Asians (Yellowface) on our stages.”
— Phil Chan and Georgina Pazcoguin launched the "Final Bow for Yellowface" campaign in 2018
Empower
Growth
Jennifer Lin, director/producer, co-directed the documentary Beethoven in Beijing about the Philadelphia Orchestra’s China legacy, which premiered nationally on PBS’s Great Performances. Lin was a reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer, including postings in Beijing, New York City and Washington, D.C. She has written a family memoir, Shanghai Faithful, and an oral history of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s historic 1973 tour of China.
​
​
Jon Funabiki, producer, advocates for media equity following a career spanning journalism, teaching and philanthropy. Funabiki covered Asia for The San Diego Union before joining The Ford Foundation as deputy director of Media, Arts and Culture. He later was a professor of journalism at San Francisco State University and founded Renaissance Journalism, which sponsors social justice journalism initiatives.
​
​
Cory Lin Stieg, producer, studied dance at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She writes extensively about dance for such publications as Dance Magazine, Dance Teacher, and Pointe. She interviewed dancers from American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet for the photography book, The Art of Movement (Black Dog & Leventhal, 2016).
