Lesley Downer

How claims of cultural appropriation scuppered an acclaimed new ballet

The people accusing Geisha of appropriation were westerners of Chinese descent. The Japanese Embassy, meanwhile, offered their official imprimatur

Sarah Chun as Aiko and Minju Kang as Okichi in Northern Ballet’s Geisha. Credit: Emma Kauldhar  
issue 07 September 2024

On 14 March 2020 I was at Leeds Grand Theatre for the première of Northern Ballet’s Geisha. The curtains swung open on fishermen flinging out their nets, geisha, samurai, 19th-century Japanese village folk, followed by the sudden appearance of American sailors. It was in essence a Japanese Giselle: the tale of a geisha, spurned by her American lover, who dies of grief, and whose restless spirit returns from the grave.

Far from being offended, the Japanese Embassy offered their official imprimatur

It was a unique production.

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