Word: li
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...Other historical figures play bit parts in Li's Zelig-like life story. In 1981, Li was permitted to study for a year overseas at the Houston Ballet Academy-he defected, only to be captured by Chinese diplomats who locked him in the consulate building in Houston until his release was secured by then U.S. Vice President George H.W. Bush. Li remained in the West and went on to become a principal performer for the Houston Ballet and then the Australian Ballet...
...Written by first-time author Li Cunxin, Dancer is a poor-boy-makes-good memoir populated by a strange cast of historical figures. Chief among them is the rabid Jiang Qing, Mao's infamous wife, who was a fierce proponent of the Great Helmsman's postulate that "There is in fact no such thing as art ... detached from or independent of politics." To Madame Mao, all presentation was propaganda; she drafted armies of performers to edify the masses through highly politicized operas and films, such as the epic revolutionary musical The East is Red. She also revived the once outlawed...
...Li's luck allowed him to escape starvation, but ballet school during the Cultural Revolution was not all tutus and toe shoes. Beloved teachers cleaned toilets; students spent their summers toiling alongside farmers or factory workers; and more class time was devoted to the study of political movements than to dance movements. At Madame Mao's insistence, kung fu kicks and death stares were introduced to mincing ballet routines. "The dancing looked all right," she once observed during a visit to the school, "but where are the guns? Where are the grenades...
...direct our glance to all the fabulous women in the cast. The camera, mainly manned by Christopher Doyle, prowls around the women like a lover in the first flush of passion. It captures and caresses the actresses' radiance: Lau's bold sensuality, Faye Wong's elfin resiliency, Gong Li's fragile hauteur. Zhang, in a panoply of pouts, flirtations and surrendering smiles, is at her most ravishing and nuanced, especially when swathed in the spectacular cheongsams of costumer designer (and editor and production designer) William Chang...
...Indeed, more often than not, the mainland's most popular athletes are now picked by the free market. Liu Xuan, a pert gold medalist at the Games in Sydney, works as a model and starred as a plucky migrant worker in a movie called Far from Home. Fellow gymnast Li Xiaoshuang has recorded an album of pop ditties. Fu Mingxia, the legendary diver who first struck gold as a teddy-bear-carrying 13-year-old in Barcelona, has appeared on Sprite cans. "Sports is an industry now," says Guo, declining like a seasoned pro to discuss the details...