環(huán)球英語 Li Cunxin: A Life of Ballet
March 22, 2015
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Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Colin Lowther.
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And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand - no matter where in the world they live.
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It is a cold snowy day in a small village in China. The children are at school. Suddenly, four men arrive. They are from the capital city, Beijing. The men look at all of the children. They are looking for students for a new ballet school. The men choose one girl. Then they walk out of the door. But as they leave, the teacher stops them. She points at an 11-year-old boy. “Excuse me, what about that one?” she asks. The boy was named Li Cunxin. Today’s Spotlight is on Li Cunxin and how he became a world famous ballet dancer.
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Li Cunxin was born in 1961. His family lived in a small village near the city of Qingdao. Li told the New York Times about his childhood:
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“I was the sixth of seven boys. You can imagine how hard it was for my parents. My parents were poor farmers. They could not read or write. For them it was a daily struggle to make sure their children did not die of hunger. So, as soon as I was born my fate was to be a poor farmer, just like my ancestors before me.”
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Then, one day in 1972, the men came to Li’s school. They were from the Beijing Dance Academy. They wanted children who were strong and flexible; children who could bend their bodies easily. From all of China, the Beijing Dance Academy chose only 44 children. These students would train as ballet dancers. One of these students was Li Cunxin.
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Ballet is a classical form of dance. It began in Europe hundreds of years ago. If you watch a ballet you will see dancers move their arms and legs smoothly to music. They jump high into the air. They do many complex moves with their feet. The female dancers even do all this while standing only on their toes! It takes many years of intense training to learn to dance like this.
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At the ballet school, Li and the children began at 5:30 every morning. They learned ballet and trained their bodies until 9:00 at night. They also had school lessons. They learned about Chairman Mao, who was the leader of China at that time. This intense life made Li very tired. He describes his first years at the ballet school to the New York Times:
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“Ballet was so foreign. And I hated the ballet for the first few years, completely hated it. The training program we were put through was extremely difficult.”
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Li missed his family very much. He wanted to leave the ballet school. But then a new teacher appeared at the school. Li told the New York Times:
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“This wonderful teacher took over our class at the end of our second year. He encouraged me. He helped me to see how beautiful this art form really was. I fell in love with ballet. And then, I was willing to work harder than everyone else. I tied heavy bags full of sand on both my ankles. I would rise at 5:00 in the morning. I jumped on one leg up and down four sets of steps. I did this until my jumping ability started to improve. Then, after everyone was asleep, I would light small candles. I practiced my turns over and over in a dark dance room.”
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Li Cunxin’s hard work had a good result. When he finished the ballet school he was the best in his class. Then, he was invited to go study ballet in the United States. At that time, the Chinese government did not usually permit students to study in other countries. But they let Li go.
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In 1979, Li went to dance at the Houston Ballet in the US. It was hard to get used to life in a new country. But over time, Li made friends. He liked dancing with the Houston ballet. And people liked to watch him dance! Li lived in the US for two years. Then it was time for him to return to China. But he did not go. Li told the Australian news network ABC what happened:
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“I secretly fell in love with a young dancer. I married Elizabeth. As an artist I also saw how important it was to have freedom. I was not even 20 years old but I had to make a choice. I could return to China or stay in America. And when the time came that I had to go back to China - I found I could not. I could not leave Elizabeth.”
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Li’s decision to stay in the United States was very difficult. The Chinese government was not happy. But they decided to let him stay. Li became the lead dancer at the Houston Ballet. Later, he travelled around the world. He even returned to China to dance and teach. Many people wanted to watch Li dance. He enjoyed his job as a ballet dancer for 15 years.
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At age 35, Li decided to change jobs. His marriage to Elizabeth ended in divorce. He married an Australian dancer named Mary Mackendry. They had three children together. Li needed to support his children. He also wanted to help his family in China. So he became a stockbroker - working with money and banks. Li worked as a stockbroker for 10 years. But he missed ballet dancing. So he wrote a book about his life as a dancer. It was called “Mao’s Last Dancer.” Many people read this book. A film producer even made a film about Li’s life.
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Then in 2012, Li took a new job with the ballet. He became the artistic director of a ballet company in Australia. Li Cunxin has already travelled very far from the small village where he was born. But he is still looking for ways to improve himself and to help other people. Li told ABC:
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“It was always my childhood dream to be able to help my family one day. It was also my desire to give something back to the art form that I loved so much. Now I can use my success to encourage others. A lot of dreams have come true but this is a new dream, a new challenge.”
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The writer and producer of this program was Rena Dam. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom and the United States. All quotes were adapted and voiced by Spotlight. You can find our programs on the internet at https://www.radioenglish.net. This program is called ‘Li Cunxin: A Life of Ballet’.
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We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.
