Mao's Last Dancer [Hardcover]

Li Cunxin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 22, 2008

At the age of eleven, Li Cunxin was one of the privileged few selected to serve in Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution by studying at the Beijing Dance Academy. Having known bitter poverty in his rural China home, ballet would be his family’s best chance for a better future.  From one hardship to another, Cunxin demonstrated perseverance and an appetite for success that led him to be chosen as one of the first two people to leave Mao’s China and go to American to dance on a special cultural exchange. But life in the U.S. was nothing like his communist indoctrination had led him to believe. Ultimately, he defected to the west in a dramatic media storm, and went on to dance with the Houston Ballet for sixteen years.

This inspiring story of passion, resilience, and a family’s love captures the harsh reality of life in Mao’s communist China and the exciting world of professional dance. This compelling memoir includes photos documenting Li’s extraordinary life.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6–9—In 1961, just three years after Mao's disastrous Great Leap Forward, Li Cunxin was born, the sixth son in a family of Chinese peasants who eked out a meager existence on a rural commune. During his childhood he endured unimaginable poverty and hardships and witnessed the shooting of 15 "counter-revolutionaries" by Mao's Red Guards. When chosen to audition for Madame Mao's Beijing Ballet Academy at age 11, ballet became his chance for a good job and enough food for life. Many years of training, two U.S. trips, one premature marriage, and a defection later, Li joined the Houston Ballet as a principal dancer, paving his way to international fame. Although told in a rather bland style—mostly in basic declarative sentences—the information about the country at this time and the danger and angst that accompanied the dancer's decision to defect will be of interest to teens. This Young Reader's Edition of the adult book (Putnam, 2004) gives a much fuller portrait than the author's picture-book version, Dancing to Freedom (Walker, 2008). The black-and-white photos, the abbreviated history, and time line will help students place Li's life story into historical context. With the current interest in all things Chinese, and with the immigration debate in full swing, this is a good choice, both to promote an understanding of Chinese culture and to provoke a discussion about the issues facing today's immigrants.—Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, LaSalle Academy, Providence, RI
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About the Author

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.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Walker Childrens; 1st edition (July 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802797792
• ISBN-13: 978-0802797797
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #35,568 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > Teens > Biographies

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational, touching, heart-warming, July 23, 2008

By 

Triple A (CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mao's Last Dancer (Hardcover)

Li Cunxin accurately portrayed the differences between life in rural China and life in the United States. The difference between city life and rural life in China differs greatly. A great point in the story is when Cunxin was leaving home for the first time, and his brother gave him two Yuan that he had been saving for two months. I also enjoyed reading about Cunxin's life in America and how it greatly differed from his life in China. I was amazed by his change from being a poor farm boy to an international star. That took years of hard work and determination. The story teaches the lesson that no matter what your family background is, it is always possible to leave this path and seek a better life. Overall, this book is well written and I recommend it to people of all ages. Even though the novel does not reflect the lives of all people in China, it gives readers a perspective of rural life in China.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mao's China through the eyes of a rural boy., December 6, 2010

By 

acomon (San Juan, PR) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mao's Last Dancer (Hardcover)

This book is one of those that you cannot put away till the end. Li Cunxin writes in a simple way, but with that rare skill of keeping you baffled through all its chapters. It traces Cunxin early life in a peasants' commune in rural China, suffering abject poverty, to his eventful obligatory trip to Beijing, to study ballet at the Beijing Ballet Academy, under China's strict communist discipline and rules, where he completes 7 years of training. Initially Cunxin hated ballet, but after several years, he learned to appreciate its beauty and artistic value. That turning point made him work harder, and the rest is history: he became one of the best dancers of the world of his time. It is a very touching book. Also very interesting because besides Cunxin' personal life as it relates to the ballet world, one learns about Mao Tse Tung's Cultural Revolution in China through the eyes of a poor peasant child who turned into an international star, not without before having caused a diplomatic conflict between China and USA. I recommend this book for all ballet lovers and to those who have an interest on China's history under Chairman Mao's communist rule and its impact on China's education and social life of that time.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars worth reading, especially young people, September 8, 2009

By 

Abe J. Goldsmithh "a. j. goldsmith" (lake forest, illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mao's Last Dancer (Hardcover)

this book is about a young man who is selected from an impovrished farm family to become a ballet dancer by a dictatorial regime in china and how he strives for success in this competitive field. i thought so much of this book, i gave it to my granddaughter (10 years old)and who loves to dance.