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Loading... Mao's Last Dancerby Li Cunxin
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. I found this absolutely compelling reading: a story of struggle and personal achievement set against a background of brutal repression. Li Cunxin tells his own story of how he became one of the world's greatest dancers and the seemingly insurmountable problems he had to overcome to achieve his goal. Don't miss it. (  )broughtonhouse | Jun 23, 2009 |   In my mind ( )jeslabber | Jun 18, 2009 | As easy to read as a good novel. Personal insight into the life of a young Chinese boy living in desperate poverty who is selected to study and train at the Beijing Dance Academy. (  )michaelaanne | Apr 13, 2009 | I really liked reading this historical memoir of a man who reached succes during the time of Mao in China. I liked the relevant history as well as the personal story of success. It's a hefty book, but well worth it. ( )sandrajoan | Mar 30, 2009 | An autobiography of Li Cunxin, one of the world’s best male ballet dancers. Cunxin, a sensitive young boy from a very tightly woven and very poor community in rural China, is chosen at the age of eleven to go to Beijing and join Madame Mao Dance Academy based just on his good looks and his ability to learn. After an initial (two year long!) adjustment to the harsh conditions there and strict work ethics, he becomes an accomplished dancer, and is chosen as one of two students to go to the United States on a stipend. He finally defects and stays on in the United States, visiting China and re-uniting with his family many years later. Blame it on my communist background, but I loved this story. So many things I could relate to! Took me no time to read the 400 pages. I loved the style too. One could tell it was written in a second language with a great flare for storytelling. ( )Niecierpek | Sep 7, 2008 | 1  0.053 seconds to build listing  no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com Book Description (ISBN 039915096X, Hardcover)An extraordinary memoir of a peasant boy raised in rural Maoist China who was plucked from his village to study ballet and went on to become one of the greatest dancers of his generation.In 1961, three years of Mao's Great Leap Forward-along with three years of poor harvests-had left a rural China suffering terribly from disease and deprivation. Li Cunxin, his parents' sixth son, lived in a small house with twenty of his relatives and, along with the rest of his family, subsisted for years on the verge of starvation. But when he was eleven years old, Madame Mao decided to revive the Peking Dance Academy, and sent her men into the countryside searching for children to attend. Chosen on the basis of his physique alone, Li Cunxin was taken from his family and sent to the city for rigorous training. What follows is the story of how a small, terrified, lonely boy became one of the greatest ballet dancers in the world. One part Falling Leaves, one part Billy Eliot, Mao's Last Dancer is an unforgettable memoir of hope and courage. (retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:08 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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