06/11/2026
This Summer, We’re Reading...
Final Bow for Yellowface: Dancing between Intention and Impact
By Phil Chan, 2025
Phil Chan is co-founder of “Final Bow for Yellowface,” a movement to remove yellowface caricature and promote more authentic Asian representation in classical repertoire, including productions like The Nutcracker, La Bayadere, and Le Corsaire. Chan’s book includes his experience with Ballet West in re-staging Le Chant du Rossignol (“The Song of the Nightingale”) in 2019, a lost Balanchine work from 1925, and his work to face orientalism, cultural appropriation, and yellowface and guide the production into a New World democratic environment.
Amber Waves is a prominent work choreographed by Chan and performed by Ballet West at its 2024 “Choreographic Fest VI: Asian Voices” in Salt Lake City and a few weeks later at The Kennedy Center’s “10,000 Dreams: A Celebration of Asian Choreography,” curated by Chan.
Swan Dive: The Making of a Rogue Ballerina
By Georgina Pazcoguin, 2021
Georgina Pazcoguin is co-founder of “Final Bow for Yellowface” along with Phil Chan. Together, they started the conversation around the nation to change portrayals of Asians from caricature to more authentic and nuanced representations. Pazcoguin’s book is a love letter to the art of dance, her passion and journey to the School of American Ballet (SAB) and professional career at New York City Ballet. Along the way, she candidly speaks up against racism and mental and sexual abuse that is the dark side of the industry.
A sublime artist, Pazcoguin delighted Ballet West audiences with her guest performance as Anita in Ballet West’s April 2026 performances of Westside Story Suite as part of the Spring rep program “Broadway and Beyond.”
Phil Chan and Georgina Pazcoguin will join Ballet West Artistic Director Adam Sklute for a panel discussion following the screening of two films, About Face and Ten Times Better, as part of the Ballet West Summit Festival event on July 16, 2026 at the Jim Santy Auditorium at Park City Library. The event is free and open to the public, seats can be reserved through Park City Film at:
https://parkcityfilm.org/film/raising-voices-en-pointe/
