Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin
Posted: 21 Jun 2015, 16:30
At eleven years old Li Cunxin, a peasant boy from China, was pulled from school to be physically evaluated...within twenty years he is a world famous ballet dancer.
Mao's Last Dancer is the story of how that came to be.
Starting with the story of his parents' wedding, a very ritualistic ceremony in 1949, Li Cunxin tells of his mother's fear of being poorly treated by her new family, of her embarrassement over her unbound feet, and the love she found that dispelled her fears.
He tells of the time he nearly lost his arm to an infected burn before he was even a year old.
He paints a vivid picture of a peasant's life in 1960's China, both the good and the bad, of the word games he and his six brothers played, and the hole in the ground facilities the whole commune shared.
From stories about rough-housing with friends, to digging out a rats nest looking for a little more food...and from flying one of his father's home-made kites--messages to the gods sent up on the kite string, to digging for half burned coal while trying not to be noticed by the armed guards, this story is always a balance of hope and hardship. With a generous sprinkling of love thrown in for flavor.
Within a few short years, Li Cunxin is one of the best dancers in his school, is sent to America to further his dancing education, defects from China, becomes a principal dancer with Houston Ballet...with so many fascinating stories in between...I could never list them all.
He tells of the linguistic mix-ups of learning a new language, his first experience with a dish washer, the time he drove a golf cart into a ditch...
All the while wishing he could give some of what he has to his family back in China, the family he hasn't even been able to call, his brothers, his mother, his father.
I could list at least a dozen more stories and it wouldn't even begin to scratch the surface of this beautiful autobiography. For every sorrow in these pages there was at least the same amount of joy and hope.
If this time in China interests you, this is one man's account--if you like ballet, the dancer and his story await you--if you want to believe the unbelieveable, a peasant boy from China will show you it's true--and if you just want an amazing story, this book has many within it's pages.
My most honest words in regard to this book are these: do yourself a favor and read it. I'm so thankful that I did.
Mao's Last Dancer is the story of how that came to be.
Starting with the story of his parents' wedding, a very ritualistic ceremony in 1949, Li Cunxin tells of his mother's fear of being poorly treated by her new family, of her embarrassement over her unbound feet, and the love she found that dispelled her fears.
He tells of the time he nearly lost his arm to an infected burn before he was even a year old.
He paints a vivid picture of a peasant's life in 1960's China, both the good and the bad, of the word games he and his six brothers played, and the hole in the ground facilities the whole commune shared.
From stories about rough-housing with friends, to digging out a rats nest looking for a little more food...and from flying one of his father's home-made kites--messages to the gods sent up on the kite string, to digging for half burned coal while trying not to be noticed by the armed guards, this story is always a balance of hope and hardship. With a generous sprinkling of love thrown in for flavor.
Within a few short years, Li Cunxin is one of the best dancers in his school, is sent to America to further his dancing education, defects from China, becomes a principal dancer with Houston Ballet...with so many fascinating stories in between...I could never list them all.
He tells of the linguistic mix-ups of learning a new language, his first experience with a dish washer, the time he drove a golf cart into a ditch...
All the while wishing he could give some of what he has to his family back in China, the family he hasn't even been able to call, his brothers, his mother, his father.
I could list at least a dozen more stories and it wouldn't even begin to scratch the surface of this beautiful autobiography. For every sorrow in these pages there was at least the same amount of joy and hope.
If this time in China interests you, this is one man's account--if you like ballet, the dancer and his story await you--if you want to believe the unbelieveable, a peasant boy from China will show you it's true--and if you just want an amazing story, this book has many within it's pages.
My most honest words in regard to this book are these: do yourself a favor and read it. I'm so thankful that I did.
