Does National Origin Matter In Dance?

“Look at the rosters of important American ballet companies, many once directed by former Balanchine dancers. At the Boston Ballet, 17 of 20 of the top dancers are foreign born and at least initially foreign trained. In San Francisco, only 4 of the 17 principals were born in this country. American Ballet Theater has long welcomed foreign-trained stars. The same pattern prevails in many other big companies. The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago still seems to be predominantly American, as does City Ballet, though it has always had foreign stars, too, like the Danish Peter Martins, its current director, or the French Sofiane Sylve. In our era of globalization, is this a problem, or merely a swing of the pendulum from internationalism to nativism and back again?”