TrailerTuesday: Mao’s Last Dancer
With the arrival in cinemas this month of Li Cunxin’s story of peasant to international ballet star, TrailerTuesday this week focuses on Mao’s Last Dancer – the books, the picture book and the film.
Dig deeper
The man
- Li Cunxin’s website
- Biography (from the website)
- Interview (ABC RN’s Life matters – podcast, 2007 )
- Interview (Radio New Zealand National – podcast 2007)
- Interview (Ballet Magazine UK, 2003)
- Interview with Peter Thompson, Part 1 (Talking Heads 2006, ABC TV) Transcript only
- Interview with Peter Thompson, Part 2 (Talking Heads 2006, ABC TV) Transcript only
- Article – Dance of the peasant prince (SMH 2003)
The texts
Adult edition (2003)
Awards
- Joint winner – Australian Booksellers Association – 2004
- Short list – National Biography Award – 2005
- Short list – Australian Book Industry Awards (International Success) – 2008
- Short list – Courier Mail Book of the Year – 2004
Young readers edition (2005)
Awards
- Winner – 2008 Young Australian Best Book Award (YABBA) - Fiction for Years 7-9
- Winner – 2008 Kids Own Australian Literature Award (KOALA) - Fiction for Years 7-9
- Short-listed – 2008 COOL Award - Fiction for Years 7-9
- Short-listed – 2008 KROC Award - Fiction for Years 7-9
The Peasant Prince, with Anne Spudvilas (2007)
Published in US as Dancing to Freedom (2008)
- CMIS review
- PaperTigers blog post
- Adaptation – Adelaide Arts Festival 2009. Review
Awards
- Winner – Australian Book Industry Awards - Children’s Book – 2008
- Winner – Queensland Premier’s Literary Award - Children’s Book – 2008
- Winner – NSW Premier’s Literary Award – Patricia Wrightson Award – 2008
- Honour Book – CBCA Picture Book of the Year – 2008
The film
The history
- Webquest on the Cultural Revolution (from ThinkQuest)
- Film clips and teaching notes from Australian Screen
October 20th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
Thank you for putting together this feast of information – the film looks wonderful and we will definitely be looking out for it…
October 21st, 2009 at 7:43 am
Thanks for the feedback, Marjorie. It’s a great story – as indicated by the many adaptations it has had. Enjoy the film.
October 30th, 2009 at 9:09 am
[...] the film of Mao’s Last Dancer attracting audiences around the world, and the books continuing to do so well, interest in China’s Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) is [...]