Artistic director of the Queensland Ballet Li Cunxin poses at a studio in Brisbane. Li was chosen from rural China to join Madame Mao's elite ballet school. Photo: AFP
From poverty in China, to US defection and Australian ballet doyen, ‘Mao’s last dancer’ faces down pandemic
- As artistic director of a leading Australian ballet company, Li Cunxin must make tough decisions after Covid-19 hit artists around the world
- Racism against Asians in the West has been a bitter by-product of the pandemic but role models such as Li are crucial in helping societies heal
Artistic director of the Queensland Ballet Li Cunxin poses at a studio in Brisbane. Li was chosen from rural China to join Madame Mao's elite ballet school. Photo: AFP