The Mirror of History and the Dream of the Future: The Modernist Reinvention and Cultural Politics of the Chicago World's Fair Edition of The Nutcracker by Joffrey Ballet
By Elizabeth Jia Introduction: When Fairy Tale Meets Modern History The melody of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker is solidified in Western cultural memory as the soundtrack of the Christmas season, much like drinking eggnog and eating Gingerbread men – a must-see ballet every holiday season, a production that sustains many ballet companies. However, Christopher Wheeldon's Chicago World's Fair edition of The Nutcracker for The Joffrey Ballet does not present the traditional dream
Deconstruction and Reconstruction: Desire, Trauma, and the Remaking of Family Myth in The Capulets
By Elizabeth Jia The Capulets, choreographed and directed by Wade Schaaf, Artistic Director of the Chicago Repertory Ballet (CRB), stands as one of the most audacious deconstructions and reconstructions of Shakespeare's classic Romeo and Juliet. Recognized as one of the top ten dance productions of the year in Chicago, this work shifts the focus away from the central tragic romance, instead turning a brutally precise spotlight onto the internal dynamics of the Capulet family.
An Americanized 'Journey to the West' Emerges in San Francisco: Reflections on the Opera 'The Monkey King'
by Elizabeth Jia Having attended the global premiere at the San Francisco Opera and reflected for less than twenty-four hours, those initially startling adaptations have begun to ferment in my mind, forming a peculiar aftertaste. This opera, with an almost reckless courage, has recast one of China's Four Great Classical Novels, Journey to the West, in the crucible of contemporary American culture. At first glance, it felt jarring; upon further thought, this seems to be the ex
