Mao's Last Dancer
By Lisa blanck
At first I thought, how lucky Director Bruce Beresford was to have found a dancer who was also a remarkable actor. However, after reading Chi Cao's biography - he's a principal dancer with the Birmingham Royal Ballet, trained at the Beijing Dance Academy and Royal Ballet School in London, it's no longer a mystery as to how Chi was able to bring to life the true story of Li Cunxin, and take it from the written word to the screen. All dancers are actors, of course; they just usually use their bodies to tell the story. Chi now was able to use words as well.
And what a wonderful story this is! Li was born in a desperately poor section of China, under the dictatorial regime of Mao Tse-Tung. Luckily he was aided first by his classroom teacher, who, when the Chinese government was forming the Beijing Dance Academy, encouraged them to include Li as one of their students. So, handpicked at the age of 11. Li was taken from his family to join this group.
However, most of the teachers at the Academy saw no talent in Li, so he pushed himself in every waking moment to prove his worth. Again, fate and luck shone upon him, when one of the teachers at the Academy noticed his efforts and encouraged him to never give up.
He goes so far as to put weights on his legs to build up their strength, so when he is called upon to do the required leaps, he has the ability to soar above the heads of his classmates.
However, the leaps are few and far between because in Mao's dance theater, the performances are limited to stodgy, earth-bound historical "recreations" of how the Chinese government knows what's best for their people. There is no anti-government discourse allowed, either in thought, word, deed or dance.
Once again, fate takes a happy turn for Li when Ben Stevenson (Bruce Greenwood), a ballet choreographer from the US, notices him in a cultural exchange trip to China. He is allowed to take Li with him to the US, but only for a pre-determined amount of time. Of course, once he reaches the States, Li is so taken with the country and more than that, with the ability to freely dance as his heart wants him to, that he seeks political asylum.
And here, for the first time, fate turns her back on Li Cunxin. What follows in the last third of the Mao’s Last Dancer are the choices forced upon Li - should he stay in this country? Will he even be able to? What will happen to his family back in China as a result of his actions? Will the hammer of Mao’s fist come down upon them? Perhaps he should return - after all, he has achieved something of his hearts desire already. Maybe he should not be greedy and ask for too much.
There are many wonderful dance scenes in this film. The multinational essence of dance is found in this one: a Chinese-born dancer, performing to music by Stravinsky, a Russian-born composer, in the USA.
I hope this film finds it's audience. It is so deserving of one.
Lisa Blanck can be reached at whheee2@gmail.com
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