Mao's Last Dancer Dance

This is an analysis of several dances from the movie Mao’s Last Dancer. Li Cunxin was eleven year old boy from a poor Chinese village when chosen to study ballet in Beijing. Madame Mao’s dance studio is where Li Cunxin’s story began. His story takes you from his peasant village as the sixth son of a poor family to his time as a premier danseur in Houston, Texas. Through his dances, Li Cunxin expresses his newly found love of ballet, determination to become the best danseur, and freedom to express himself through dance.

When Li Cunxin first attended Madame Mao’s dance studio, Li Cunxin did not see how ballet would help him and his family. He did not like being away from his family, ballet, and the rigorous training. Teacher Chan gave Li Cunxin a video of Russian classical ballet. Premier danseur Mikhail Baryshnikov was performing in Don Quixote. This is where Li

Cunxin first fell in love with classical ballet. The video was in black and white with no visible props. The music highlighted Mikhail Baryshnikov’s jumps and turns at the right moments. The choreography flowed and the double rivoltade made Mikhail Baryshnikov look like he was flying. Mikhail Baryshnikov’s movements were precise and masculine. Li Cunxin could not believe at how ballet could be so beautifully performed. Li Cunxin stood out among his classmates because he loved ballet and demonstrated it through his dance.

Li Cunxin grew up in Madame Mao’s dance school. The eleven year old boy was homesick and the rigorous training made his experience miserable. Teacher Chan told Li Cunxin a fable of an emperor’s guard that dreamed of being the best bow-shooter. Li Cunxin took this story to heart and trained religiously. The boy was not naturally talented and was weaker than most boys, so he trained harder and longer than his classmates. His first performance was about the revolution. The East is Red, was the name of the piece. The group dance of the Red Army soldiers was precise and technically perfect. The Chinese instructors reinforced being technically perfect versus showing emotion. The dancers performed like synchronized swimmers. The color red was incorporated with the props and lighting to reinforce the theme of the ballet. The Chinese music flowed well with the choreography.

Li Cunxin’s love for classical ballet and determination to be the best led him to fight for the right of artistic freedom.

He first experienced this artistic freedom when he watched the video of Mikhail Baryshnikov. Ben Stevenson selected Li Cunxin to perform with his company in America. Unlike his classmates, Li Cunxin danced with perfect technicality and with emotion. While with the Houston Ballet, Li Cunxin performed in Don Quixote. He performed some gravity defying jete split jumps and double cabriole. His costume and make-up were right for the performance. Li Cunxin was graceful and masculine when performing his choreography. Li Cunxin believed that artistic freedom made him a better danseur.

In conclusion, Li Cunxin became a great danseur by overcoming his weaknesses and obstacles. Repetition and determination helped build his talent. The love of classical ballet gave him the emotional aspect to show his emotions through dance. His split jumps, pirouettes, and lines were always beautiful. Love, determination, and artistic freedom were some of the emotions Li Cunxin felt through his

performances.