Li Cunxin has displayed the ultimate in perseverance and determination throughout his life--from excelling in the grueling ballet training demanded by the Beijing Dance Academy to his 16 years as one of the premier dancers from the Houston Ballet to his latest career as a stockbroker and motivational speaker. He now lives in Australia and travels extensively around the world giving presentations. Visit his Web site at www.licunxin.com.
Cunxin, before the age of 40, had an amazing life: he grew up in a Chinese commune near the Northeastern city of Qingdao; at age 11, he was chosen by Madame Mao's cultural delegates to leave home and learn ballet, but his chances of being selected were one in a billion! His life in the very poor but loving commune, his time at the Beijing Dance Academy, and, finally, his defection to the West in 1981 are presented in bittersweet detail. The author was a kind and warm family member and friend who realized his fortune and remembered his past. Few stories of immigration capture the sorrows and joys as well. It must be noted that this is also a lesson of what it takes to become a world-class ballet dancer. Paul English enhances the beautiful tale with his wise and sensitive presentation; Cunxin's excruciating sorrow and exhilarating joy are equally well rendered. A necessary purchase for large public and academic libraries and all those that serve immigrant communities.-Susan G. Baird, Chicago Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Gr 7 Up-In this riveting and absorbing autobiography, Li Cunxin tells of his life as a dancer in post-Cultural Revolution China. During the 1970s, Li, an 11-year-old peasant boy, traveled from his poor village to train with the Beijing Dance Academy. By the age of 18, he was selected to dance with the Houston Ballet for the summer. During this time, Li yearned for the freedom to pursue his art, even at the cost of giving up his family and his homeland. A story of courage and hope, this autobiography will inspire youngsters to follow their dreams, no matter how impossible they seem. Australian actor Paul English narrates with clarity and enthusiasm that holds listeners' attention.-Larry Cooperman, Seminole High School, Sanford, FL Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.
This is the heartening rags-to-riches story of Li, who achieved prominence on the international ballet stage. Born in 1961, just before the Cultural Revolution, Li was raised in extreme rural poverty and witnessed Communist brutality, yet he imbibed a reverence for Mao and his programs. In a twist of fate worthy of a fairy tale (or a ballet), Li, at age 11, was selected by delegates from Madame Mao's arts programs to join the Beijing Dance Academy. In 1979, through the largesse of choreographer and artistic director Ben Stevenson, he was selected to spend a summer with the Houston Ballet-the first official exchange of artists between China and America since 1949. Li's visit, with its taste of freedom, made an enormous impression on his perceptions of both ballet and of politics, and once back in China, Li lobbied persistently and shrewdly to be allowed to return to America. Miraculously, he prevailed in getting permission for a one-year return. In an April 1981 spectacle that received national media attention, Li defected in a showdown at the Chinese consulate in Houston. He married fellow dancer Mary McKendry and gained international renown as a principal dancer with the Houston Ballet and later with the Australian Ballet; eventually, he retired from dance to work in finance. Despite Li's tendency toward the cloying and sentimental, his story will appeal to an audience beyond Sinophiles and ballet aficionados-it provides a fascinating glimpse of the history of Chinese-U.S. relations and the dissolution of the Communist ideal in the life of one fortunate individual. 8 pages of b&w photos not seen by PW. (Apr. 5) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
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