Mao's last dancer is based on the extraordinary true story and memoirs by Cunxin Li, who, from the Shandong Province in China, was plucked at the age of 10 from his poverty stricken small village school to train to be a dancer in Beijing. Enduring the strict discipline of the Academy of Dance and suffering the heartache of separation from his family, Li ultimately seizes the gift of his incredible opportunity with determination to succeed. He was later offered to study with one of the top ballet companies in the world, the Houston Ballet in America. Li's fate could so easily have been the anguish of an individual who vanished, like millions of other peasants living amidst the chaos of Mao's Cultural Revolution, but there was to be another and more thrilling destiny for Li. One day he would have to make an agonising choice between duty and freedom. One day he would be regarded as one of the greatest ballet dancers of his time. One day he would be a friend to a president and first lady, movie stars and the most influential people in America. One day he would become a star: Mao's last dancer and the darling of East and West. 
 

Stars: Chi Cao

Director: Bruce Beresford

Release Date 04/03/10

Language: English

Running Time: 127mins

Rating: PG

Colour: Yes