She stopped the last gentleman from Beijing to leave the room and said 'What about that one? Li passed tough auditions to became one of 44 children selected from among millions to begin seven years of "absolutely brutal" ballet training.
The rigorous programme instilled a lifelong sense of discipline and perseverance, but at first the young Li found himself bored and hating ballet. Eventually another teacher stepped in and helped Li to become, he says matter-of-factly, "widely considered the best dancer China had ever produced".
In , in the throes of the Cold War, he was invited to study with the Houston Ballet, where he fell in love and married an American dancer -- leading to his "darkest moment". On arriving at the city's Chinese Consulate to share what he thought was good news, Li was immediately detained for defying the Communist Party. Then came a crucial intervention: US President George Bush and his wife Barbara, who was on the board of the Houston Ballet, successfully lobbied for his release.
Yet the Texas city contradicted everything he thought he knew. It was as if 18 years of my life were being erased. Even though he and Mackey had hastily got married to secure his legal status in America, he was briefly incarcerated in the Chinese consulate in Houston, and threatened not only with deportation and punishment, but also with retribution on his family.
He now realises they were too young to deal with the turbulence of his emotions. I wanted to be in America, but I suffered so much because I thought I might never be allowed back to see my beloved family again. He was accepted into Houston Ballet and, with his brilliant, Chinese-drilled technique, rapidly rose to soloist and principal. He guested with companies all over the world, in a repertory more dizzyingly varied than anything he could have performed in China.
In London, he met and married the ballerina Mary McKendry and, in , he transferred to the Australian troupe. He went on to become top-ranking principal at the Houston Ballet and later, after moving to Melbourne with his second wife, the Australian Ballet. Relations between his current and former homes are frosty, with relations between Canberra and Beijing reaching new lows after Australia called for an inquiry into the origins of the pandemic. As artistic director of Queensland Ballet since — following a lengthy stint as a stockbroker after retiring from performance — Li has been credited with revitalising the company.
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