‘Ten Times Better’: New York City Ballet’s first-ever Asian dancer gets spotlight in short doc

Lee’s early life: Born in Hong Kong, Lee, now aged 88, spent two years of his early life in a refugee camp in the Philippines before fleeing to Shanghai, where he worked as a dancer at the age of 6 to survive, according to ABC7NY. His story took a turn for the better after moving to the United States at 15 years old in 1951.

Making history: Lee achieved a breakthrough in his career after legendary choreographer and New York City Ballet co-founder George Balanchine picked him to play an Asian dancer doing the “Tea” divertissement in his 1951 New York City Ballet production of “The Nutcracker,” a stage production that garnered backlash in recent years for its use of “yellowface.”

Besides “The Nutcracker,” Lee was also chosen to be part of the original production cast of Gene Kelly’s “Flower Drum Song,” according to the documentary’s website. After his dancing stint in New York City, Lee took his career to Las Vegas.

Tracking him down: Producer and director Jennifer Lin recalled how she became obsessed with tracking Lee down after seeing him in pictures for “The Nutcracker” production while browsing through the dance archives of the New York Public Library.

After weeks of hard work, Lin managed to track Lee in Las Vegas, where he is still working as a blackjack dealer at 88 years old.

“After all these years, I can’t believe anyone would be interested in me,” Lin said, recalling what Lee told him when they finally spoke in the phone.

About the project: Titled after what Lee’s mother told him — to be “ten times better” than the other dancers in the all-white dance world at the time — the 30-minute documentary premiered on Feb. 10 during the 52nd Dance on Camera Festival at the Dance Films Association and Film at Lincoln Center.