Li Cunxin (dancer)
| Li Cunxin | |
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Li Cunxin in 2010
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| Born |
李存信 (Lǐ Cúnxìn) 26 January 1961 Qingdao, Shandong, China |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Mackey (1981–87) Mary McKendry (1987–present) |
Li Cunxin (born 26 January 1961) is a Chinese-Australian former ballet dancer and stockbroker. He is currently the artistic director of the Queensland Ballet in Brisbane, Australia.
Li was one of 7 brothers, born into poverty in the Li Commune near the city of Qingdao in the Shandong province of the People's Republic of China. He often had to support his extremely poor family. Li's early life coincided with Mao Zedong's rule over the new Communist nation. Li had a strong desire to serve China's Communist Party. He was quite politically devout, eventually joining in the CCP's Youth League. At the age of eleven, he was selected by Madame Mao's cultural advisors to attend the Beijing Dance Academy, where students endured 16-hour-a-day training. He attended the Academy for seven years. The regime in Beijing Dance was harsh, starting each morning at 5:30. Li performed well in the politics class, but did badly in ballet. This changed when he met teacher Xiao, who had a passion for ballet. Xiao's passion influenced Li, and by the end of the seven years' training he became a very good dancer.
Artistic Director of the Houston Ballet Ben Stevenson saw Li while teaching two semesters at the Beijing Dance Academy. He offered a full scholarship for Li to study at the Houston Ballet summer school. (Li was one of the first students from the Beijing Dance Academy to go to the United States under financial support from the central government of the People's Republic of China.)
After his study at the summer school, Li defected to the West. He was held in the Chinese Consulate in Houston, his defection creating headlines in America. He had begun a relationship with an aspiring American dancer, Elizabeth Mackey and in 1981, they had married so that Li could avoid deportation. After 21 hours of negotiations, and intervention by President George Bush (senior) Li was allowed to stay in the USA as a free man, but his Chinese citizenship was revoked.
Li subsequently danced with the Houston Ballet for sixteen years, during which he won two silver and a bronze medal at International Ballet Competitions. While dancing in London, he met Australian born ballerina Mary McKendry. They married in 1987. In 1995 they moved to Melbourne, Australia with their two children, Li becoming a principal dancer with the Australian Ballet. McKendry and Li have three children: Sophie (1989) Thomas (1992) and Bridie (1997).
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