Racism - where should you draw the line?

As I was searching for acts of racial prejudice and racism seen in the Ballet world, I looked further into the incident which happened quite recently. It was the incident of Misty Copeland calling out Bolshoi Ballet's production of 'La Bayadère', and their tradition of 'blackface'. I remember seeing the uproar on Instagram and various dancers standing up to racist acts seen in the Ballet scene. I too, believe that this is an act of ignorance and racism. However, while delving further into this incident, I discover that the Russians have a totally different stand, and the stand that they have, shock me!

The points brought up by members of Russia's ballet industry include that "it was just a costume" and that "this has been the way we have presented the Ballet". As translated by the New York Times, Anna Okuneva, a Moscow-based ballerina, defended Russia's tradition of 'blackface' stating that “I’ve smeared my face and body with a stain a thousand times” and "This is my creative work, and this is not racism.” (link to the New York Times article).

Furthermore, as reported in the Moscow Times, Makhar Vaziev, who is Bolshoi Ballet's director rebutted Copeland’s criticism as “simply ridiculous” (link to the Moscow Times article).

Another inferred perspective from the Russian's defence is that Russia is "a country that has never engaged in the oppression of Black people through lynching, enslaving or segregation" (link to article) hence, one should not plant an American belief into the Russian ballet community.

A lot of online news, publications and magazine articles have also addressed this incident and highlighted the various stands shared by both the international community and leading figures of Russia's ballet industry.

What are you thoughts about these views? Let me know in the comments, I would love to read them!

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Bibliography

Marshall, A. (2019) Blackface at the Ballet Highlights a Global Divide on Race. Available at: URL (Accessed: 17 March 2021).

Mitrofanova, T. (2020) Why is Blackface Normal and Not Racist in Russian Ballet?. Available at: URL (Accessed: 17 March 2021).

The Moscow Times. (2019) Russian Ballet's Use of Blackface Ignites Online Controversy. Available at: URL (Accessed: 17 March 2021).