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Author

Li Cunxin

Li Cunxin was born in 1961, in the New Village, Li Commune, near the city of Qingdao on the coast of north-east China. The sixth of seven sons in a poor rural family, Li's peasant life in Chairman Mao's communist China changed dramatically when, at the age of eleven, he was chosen by Madame Mao's cultural advisers to become a student at the Beijing Dance Academy. Li went on to become one of the best male dancers in the world. Li's autobiography, Mao's Last Dancer has sold over 400,000 copies and has been published in over twenty countries. A children's version of the book was released in 2005 and a feature-length film was released in 2009. He is now a senior manager in a major stockbroking firm and lives in Melbourne, Australia, with his wife Mary and their three children, Sophie, Tom and Bridie.

Search Results

Title:

Mao's Last Dancer: Young Readers' Edition (MP3)

Written by:

Li Cunxin 

Read by:

Paul English 

Format:

Unabridged MP3 CD Audio Book 

Number of CDs:

1 

Duration:

8 hours 58 minutes 

MP3 size:

391 MB 

Published:

May 01 2008 

Available Date:

May 01 2008 

Age Category:

Young Adult (15+) 

ISBN:

9781742015019 

Genres:

Non-fiction; Asian; Memoirs; Performing Arts 

Publisher:

Bolinda audio 

Qty

Format

Price

Bolinda price

AUD$ 29.95

AUD$ 29.95

**

 

International bestseller
Five Starred Review on Amazon

Notable Title Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Awards 2008

From unbelievable poverty to international stardom – the inspiring true story of one boy's dream come true.

One day, not so very many years ago, a small peasant boy was chosen to study ballet at the Beijing Dance Academy. His mother urged him to take this chance of a lifetime. But Li was only eleven years old and he was scared and lonely, pushed away from all that he had ever known and loved. He hated the strict training routines and the strange place he had been brought to. All he wanted to do was go home - to his mother, father and six brothers, to his own small village. But soon Li realised that his mother was right. He had the chance to do something special with his life - and he never turned back.

"Plucked from poverty, Li Cunxin was brought to Beijing to learn ballet. Later, after defecting, he became a principal dancer in both the Houston and the Australian Ballets, ultimately becoming world renowned. Paul English's crisp accents march precisely through Chinese pronunciations and the difficult stories of Li's early life in Quingdao. Occasionally, English pauses on emotional peaks, portraying, for example, Li's fear when his mother faints from hunger and his loneliness while adjusting to life at the dance school. Mostly, English's level narration allows listeners to imagine the contrasts of Li's life – his incomprehension of the wealth and freedom he sees while visiting the U.S. And, soon after, his struggle to attain them."
AudioFile Magazine