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Mao’s Last Dancer

PG20091h 57mBruce Beresford
IMDb 7.3 · Rotten Tomatoes 55% · Metacritic 55

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Synopsis

"Before you can fly, you have to be free."

At the age of 11, Li was plucked from a poor Chinese village by Madame Mao's cultural delegates and taken to Beijing to study ballet. In 1979, during a cultural exchange to Texas, he falls in love with an American woman. Two years later, he managed to defect and went on to perform as a principal dancer for the Houston Ballet and as a principal artist with the Australian Ballet.

DramaRomance
DanceDancerVillageBallet DancerRags To RichesBased On True StoryPromiseBalletCommunism

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Frequently asked questions

What is Mao’s Last Dancer (2009) about?

At the age of 11, Li was plucked from a poor Chinese village by Madame Mao's cultural delegates and taken to Beijing to study ballet. In 1979, during a cultural exchange to Texas, he falls in love with an American woman. Two years later, he managed to defect and went on to perform as a principal dancer for the Houston Ballet and as a principal artist with the Australian Ballet.

Who stars in Mao’s Last Dancer?

Mao’s Last Dancer stars Bruce Greenwood (Ben Stevenson), Kyle MacLachlan (Charles Foster), Joan Chen (Niang), Chi Cao (Li Cunxin - adult), Amanda Schull (Elizabeth Mackey). The film was directed by Bruce Beresford.

How long is Mao’s Last Dancer?

Mao’s Last Dancer has a runtime of 1 min and premiered in 2009. It is rated PG.

Is Mao’s Last Dancer worth watching?

Mao’s Last Dancer holds an IMDb rating of 7.3/10. On Rotten Tomatoes it scores 55. Fans of Drama, Romance are most likely to enjoy it — TasteRay can tell you how well it matches your personal taste.

Where can I watch Mao’s Last Dancer?

Streaming availability for Mao’s Last Dancer changes by country and service. TasteRay tracks where it is available across Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Max, Apple TV+ and 50+ other platforms — the current options for your country are shown on this page.