Mao's Last Dancer: The World Famous Ballet Dancer

When she was younger, it wasn’t hard for her to learn the new choreography.She was a natural dancer,but no matter how well of a dancer she was she knew that she could always improve her skills. She also became a local dancer and she performed at rodeos and county fair. One of instructor said “She didn't know learn the basics.” She needed to be taught the basics.

In “Showing What Is Possible,” Jacques D’Amboise reflects on an experience when a teacher helped him discover ballet. Madame Seda helped D’Amboise fulfill his talent. With ballet, he overcame the pressure to join a gang like his friends. D’Amboise was able to become a well-known ballet dancer with help from his teachers. When it was time to retire from dancing, he started the National Dance Institute. This project enabled D’Amboise to influence his own students around the world. An influential teacher can affect one’s future by challenging pupils to move past their comfort zones, teaching them to actively control their future, and setting up an environment where they can improve together.

As the novel draws to an end, Ji-li has am important choice to make; She can support her family or support Mao and the revolution. Ji-li face great pressure from the red guards and also from the part of herself that wants to cure her black class status. However she chooses her family because “(it is) too precious to forget and too rare to replace”(Pg 263). However, this choice has consequences for her and her family. She was prevented from becoming an actress because of her class status, and her mother was forced to write self-critism reports because she would not break with her husband. In brief, Ji-li has a vital choice to make, and chose her family, but this choice had consequences.

The Chinese officials in Mao’s Last Dancer are depicted to be people of power, but using that power incorrectly. When Li was detained by the Consulate-General it showed how

“As one of the Red Guards in the middle school, I was given power through Mao to torture and humiliate our teachers, headmaster or anyone we didn’t like. I didn’t know it was wrong. I thought I was doing the right thing to continue the revolution, to fight and win the class struggle”- Zhao, Lin Qing. As a teenager Zhao was a Red Guard in Guangzhou during the Cultural Revolution. When asked what her impression was a member of the Red Guards, Zhao answered with two words: “naïve and senseless”. She refused answering anything more about her experience. She said, “The memories are still too painful to recall.”

I was always hopeful for Li, and felt lucky that my son, out of all other promising students in Qindao, had been chosen to dance for Chairman Mao. Although the luck of the Cunxin family had changed, it was difficult to adjust to life in the commune without Li’s presence as a guiding light, or a helping hand. Having 7 sons while living our

Autobiographies, as a narrative non-fiction text, generally rely on the conventions of factual historical evidence while presenting a personal point of view. Non-fiction texts therefore, rely on objective detail and a subjective perspective. Throughout the autobiography Mao’s Last Dancer the composer Li Cunxin offers a personal evaluation of actions and speculates on the significance of certain actions and events. To engage and entertain the responder the composer uses opinionative language and

In this documentary of “Mad Hot Ballroom” showed students in 5th grade dancing with their peers. In the beginning of this film, students were really shy and immature dancing with their partners. They were embarrassed and they couldn’t keep that awkward smile off their face, but they still had fun. They were mentioned that the best of dancers will be chosen to compete in a yearly competition, but it was much more than just a competition. Each student probably didn’t notice it but they were maturing throughout each practice. Each day in practice students tried their best, even when they were tired the instructor put on a catchy music and immediately the students were dancing and laughing. Dancing was their escape of reality. It was like a dream for them. They had a really nice opportunity. While they danced you can see every blood, sweat, and tears they put into practice. Throughout the documentary you see them mature every dance move they made. They matured by boys dancing with girls and they got out of that awkward stage. They weren’t afraid or shy to talk to a boy or girl. The ballroom dancing had a much greater purpose than just dancing and having fun. “You are going to learn from this experience” (Argelo). Every student probably didn’t earn a medal but they all won. They came out more than what they had as they walked in. Some students also learned what they wanted to do for the rest of their lives, they want to become an actor,

Everything is then going well for Li, his ballet is going just the way he never expected it to be, which was fantastic and he had his girl. But then the Chinese government sent a request for Li to go home back to china after being defected for 9 years, because they realised the fame and talent he had. Li didn’t want to go back to China, because he felt so free and loved it in America, as well as having his girlfriend that he did not want to leave. Li decides to cross the boundary and marry Liz, so then he is not allowed to go back to China, but this means he will not

Jaspreana Tobias, a young girl born in the vibrant city of New Orleans, Louisiana, was a child who had grew up around music and rhythm and soul. Born to a family where the last person who was not from New Orleans was born two generations ahead of her, one could assume the rhythm was in her blood. Since she was little and could feel the music, the young Louisianan danced and did so with passion. Though her family loves music and all its counterparts, Jaspreana is the only dancer in the Tobias family tree. In high school, Jaspreana, a determined dancer, tried out for her school’s dance team. Unfortunately she did not make the cut. As any young woman would be, she was disappointed in herself; heart-broken actually. In her mind, she had a great chance at making the team, due to her skillful footwork and elegant grace as a dancer. In her own words, the result of her not making the team was “devastating” as it shook her confidence to the core. On that day, Jaspreana swore she would never try out for another dance team ever again. After months and months of sulking and great disappointment, her love and passion for the art of dancing returned. Not only had it returned, it returned with a new fire which burned deep in her soul. Dancing was her passion and being a professional dancer had been her dream since she could ever even two step to the sound of a simple beat. Jaspreana practiced and practiced. She would dance and think about dancing from the break of dawn until dusk. Finally

Of all the values that dancing instilled within me, I believe I learned the greatest lesson when I forfeited my first love. In my mind, I rationalized that school’s importance outweighed my devotion to dance. In my eighth grade year, my studio encouraged me to join their dance company, while my school implemented an academic plan for me that met my educational needs, which included placing me in ninth grade honors courses. Faced with the truth of the difficulty of balancing schoolwork with a demanding practice schedule, I reluctantly withdrew from my dance

Mao’s last dancer an autobiography by Li Cunxin (a famous chinese ballet dancer). Li cunxin was born into bitter poverty in rural Qingdao,china. Despite the harsh reality of life, his childhood was full of love. The compassion and admiration that Li’s parents gave him filled Li with hope, strength and courage to keep moving on. I think that li’s poor upbring was more valuable than a rich western upbring because of how much harder he had to work for everything, training Li to work harder at all aspects in his life.

Li Cunxin led a very inspiring life, achieving his dreams by conquering many obstacles that were in his way. The film ‘Mao’s Last Dancer’, directed by Bruce Beresford is about a little peasant boy who lives in a rural town called Qingdao with his family in China. He works hard to achieve his goals and dreams. Cunxin was told many inspirational fables, but ‘The Frog in the Well’ inspired Li Cunxin to dream big and make it out of the ‘well’ which in his case was getting out of Chairman Mao’s grip to see the outside world and what it was like. This fable made him determined to make his family proud, to become a good dancer and to be free to do what he wants without the Chinese Government controlling him.

Becoming Madame Mao, written by Anchee Min, is the account of Mao Zedong’s wife, and her rise to political power of the Chinese Communist Party along with her husband. Madame Mao, throughout her life, works hard to earn her status in society and, along with making a name for herself, gaining rights and respect for all women. Through a series of transition, Madame Mao is referred to with three different name, Yunhe, Lan Ping, and Jiang Ching, which correspond to her growing defiance of gender roles in Chinese society. Madame Mao earns her first name, Yunhe, when she enrolls in a local elementary school. The name Yunhe, which means “Crane in the Clouds” is given to her by her grandfather.

The novel, “Mao’s Last Dancer”, was written by Li Cunxin. It tells his riveting tale of growing up in a poor family of six boys, living in a village in China under Mao’s reign. It goes on to share his eventual defection to the United States as an artistic dancer. His childhood was filled with both hardships and joys. But both helped him to grow as a resilient person to achieve once-thought impossible goals.