Mao's Last Dancer Dance

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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 …show more content…

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

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