Seeing beyond colours

The topic area that I would like to look into is the idea of skin colour and the representation of coloured dancers, namely Black and East Asian (namely Chinese), in the Ballet scene. This topic did not catch my attention just because I'm a Chinese studying and working in Europe. As I'm more exposed to the Ballet scene and am currently working in a rather diverse company, it gave me the chance to be more aware of how certain characters/roles are being portrayed, how different companies might cast their dancers or even just the fact that if they would offer a contract to a coloured dancer.

My first thought regarding this topic is that it is probably due to certain historical and political events that have caused such portrayals of or treatment towards coloured dancers. The topic of racism and the treatment towards Blacks and East Asians are burning issues in today's society as well as the past few centuries, and even just the term 'people of colour' is deemed offensive by certain individuals.

While doing my research and reading up on the topic, I realised that the idea of skin colour and the treatment towards Blacks and East Asians are far more complex than I thought. Yes, historical and political events have definitely shaped our world of today and would also have shaped certain ideas and views within not only the Ballet scene but also the Arts scene in general. However, how much of these thoughts and opinions are actually sensible and sensitive towards others? It also definitely doesn't help that Ballet originated from European courts.

Some thoughts and questions I have after doing further research into this rather broad topic of skin colour and representation of coloured dancers in the Ballet scene,

(1) To what extent such representation is considered "artistic expression" and when does it cross the line to being racist?

(2) With Ballet being a performing and aesthetic-based artform, which is rather similar to Plays, should the physical appearance of a dancer/an individual affect their contract offer or the casting of a production/piece of choreography?

(3) With the world constantly changing and evolving, the thoughts and mindsets of people change as well. This can already be seen in the development of dance - from court dances to the introduction to pointe shoes, to the establishment of the American Modern Dance scene and to the Contemporary Ballets that we see today. To what extent should Ballet stick to its European origins, and the European aesthetic and "artistic views" and how much of it should change to fit today's world and mindset? And how does that apply to the classical repertoire such as Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, etc. 

(4) What are the exact historical and political events that have caused and created such stereotypes and treatments towards 'people of colour' which then affect how they are portrayed in the Ballet productions?

At the moment, I'm trying to map out this broad topic to help me narrow down to a specific area to focus on and also doing loads of reading to get as much background and context knowledge about the Ballet scene and the relevant historical world events.

Would love to hear thoughts and opinions about this topic, and discuss with anyone in the comments!