Mao’s Last Dancer by Li Cunxin – Expository

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The Ugly Duckling and the world outside the well

For some, the dream of a better life arises out of the squalor of an existence that promises nothing but more of the same. Li Cunxin, author of “Mao’s Last Dancer” is the frog in the well who must succumb to his fate, irrespective of the world that exists, he is told by a visiting toad, beyond the well. When opportunity presents itself though, he grasps at it unrelentingly to become the darling of the Beijing Dance Academy. For those more privileged, success it seems can often be founded on the desire to be the best. Australian Olympic Cyclist Anna Meares, once described by her coach as the “ugly duckling” possesses that desire.