Beyond the Black and White Paradigm: The casting of Othello and Desdemona on the ballet stage

At a time when we are so keenly tuned to issues of racial, ethnic and cultural difference, the casting choice of Othello comes with a lot of strings attached. No matter who gets the role, no matter what the social or theatrical context, the choice is bound to come under intense critical scrutiny, and even before the curtain goes up on opening night, it inscribes the performance with one brand or another of social discourse upon which every critical interpretation of the performance will hang. This holds true, and to a much greater degree, when the performance takes place on the traditionally elitist (and white) ballet stage where racial, ethnic and cultural differences stand out much more markedly. This paper looks at a recent Othello ballet, created and performed in the United States, from the perspective of the casting of an African-American Othello alongside a mainland Chinese Desdemona. It does so within the context of the multiracial tensions that defined the turn of the millennium in that part of the world. And within this context, it discusses some of the ways the ballet, as it takes on Shakespeare’s narrative, is able to explore issues concerning the politics and representation of raced identity in insightful ways unavailable to other performing art forms. This study is part of an ongoing project of mine aimed at broadening the frame of vision of appropriation and performance studies to include the ballet stage, especially in relation to the Bard’s work, where it continues to be overlooked, despite the fact that almost every one of Shakespeare’s plays has been choreographed, and many repeatedly.