Comments on: Usage Of Blackface In American Ballet Theatre’s Production Of Othello

By: ABT Continues to Wait for the “Jim Crow Othello” Story to Blow Over

ABT Continues to Wait for the “Jim Crow Othello” Story to Blow Over — Fri, 15 Jan 2016 22:02:53 +0000

[…] and bronzed. The photo has since been deleted though a screen shot of it was published for the Broadway Black story. It is not known if Gomes deleted the photo on his own or if ABT had asked him to remove it in […]

By: An ‘Otello’ Without the Blackface Nods to Modern Tastes | Whistleblower 24 – Your Only News Site

Thu, 17 Sep 2015 12:12:13 +0000

[…] Lar Lubovitch’s “Othello” last spring, in which Marcelo Gomes wore dark makeup, offended some members of the audience. The slowness of many leading opera and ballet companies to adapt to changing societal mores, not […]

By: An ‘Otello’ Without the Blackface Nods to Modern Tastes | Music Scene

An ‘Otello’ Without the Blackface Nods to Modern Tastes | Music Scene — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 11:09:44 +0000

By: ABT Continues to Wait for the “Jim Crow Othello” Story to Blow Over | sdwoodruff

Mon, 17 Aug 2015 15:17:29 +0000

[…] Manning Jr., a black actor who had seen the performance (and walked out on it) fired off an angry letter to the publication Broadway Black calling the performance a “Jim Crow Othello” because Gomes , who is a light-skinned Brazilian, […]

By: steven woodlruff

steven woodlruff — Mon, 10 Aug 2015 19:53:00 +0000

While much of the justified criticism has been aimed at ABT
as an organization it is Gomes who could have ended the sorry practice by
saying “I’m not going to do this”. Instead he exercised some
magnificently poor judgement in being the final enabler of a very wrong and harmful
decision making process. It is hard to imagine the level of racial tone
deafness (actual racism I suppose) among other dancers in the company (and
audiences for that matter) to let him proceed without a challenge. My guess is
that though the public storm in the wake of the story has subsided somewhat,
this will be the end of blacked up singers, actors and dancers behaving like
this in any future professional versions of Othello or any other theater piece
with similar characters. About time! And if you ever need a justification just
read Manning’s letter and comments here and take them to heart.

By: Robertmanningjr

Robertmanningjr — Mon, 15 Jun 2015 21:36:00 +0000

In reply to John Smith.

The person who mentioned Misty Copeland just furthers my point. She is a wonderful dancer in her own right. She also was NOT painted white to play the role of Emilia. She just did the role as a dancer. And for Mr. Smith, I didn’t ask for the article to be written. My letter was for my friends, ABT and the New York Times. No one else. But, I think the fact that people are talking about it is a good thing. You don’t have to agree to have a conversation. I will tell you that the lack of response from ABT and the Times is very telling.

Also understand Mr. Gomes and ABT could have just done the role instead of painting him just as Misty Copeland did.

By: Actor Slams American Ballet Theater's 'Jim Crow' Production Of 'Othello' - Now Omaha

Fri, 05 Jun 2015 12:58:28 +0000

[…] Opera in New York City,” Manning wrote in a letter published Tuesday on the website Broadway Black […]

By: permichelen

permichelen — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 01:55:00 +0000

There is something positive to be said for color blind casting, and I will know parity has been reached when Queen Elizabeth of England is played by an actor of a different race. Usually the argument goes, that Elizabeth is a real person of a specific race, and therefore credulity would be streched by using someone from another race to portray her. Humh, where have I heard that argument…

By: DM

DM — Thu, 04 Jun 2015 13:32:00 +0000

I wanted to add that i thought the letter writer posed extremely important and valid arguments . The anger expressed in the face of of what was perceived by him as offensive, wether rightly or wrongly, is called for and the strength of his response is what is required to draw attention to this issue . i applaud him for his conviction and his willingness to react. What’s important here is that the discourse remains energized and the integrity inherent in his anger and the insistence on keeping a light shining helps to do that. Its yet another wake up call and a chance to think better. While my first response offers an argument only to some areas of his opinion i whole heartedly applaud his message. there is the possibility for enlightenment here, i am grateful for that.

By: DM

DM — Thu, 04 Jun 2015 12:45:00 +0000

your article does a grave injustice to Misty Copeland by implying that she is used for her color by American Ballet theater as some sort of lure to a more diverse audience. Misty Copeland is a superb artist being cast in major roles she deserves for her talent NOT FOR HER COLOR. If the hot head who wrote the letter accusing ABT of racism had remained calm and watched th rest of the show he would’ve had th marvelous good fortune of seeing Misty in the second act of Othello playing Bianca , a major player in the story ,not wearing “italian face” but playing the part with her own gorgeous brown skin as is. In the world of ballet there is and has been for some time a forward moving conversation on the lack of diversity in company membership. As with all issues concerning racism its a long hard slog toward a better day but there is no question that there is positive trend in that direction. there are several young black dancers in ABT at this time , all of whom are also there for their talent not their color. As for Mr Gomes , he is one the world class dancers that is almost without peer. Only a dancer of that rarified caliber could take on this challenging role. In the role of Othello “color” is essential , but cant be the criteria for casting in this case. What a grave and terrible injustice it would be to the superbly talented young black artists who aspire to the perfection that is sought for in ballet to be told they are being hired for the color of their skin. ABT has the good fortune to have a small but brilliant group of outstanding young black ballet dancers whose talents stand apart form their color.