International ballet star and best-selling author, Li Cunxin, to Address HISD Students at Sharpstown High School on November 5, 2009 at 9:30 AM.
 

Event Commemorates Writers in the Schools 25th Anniversary, and its Role as a Major Force for Educational Change in Houston

Houston, Texas – On Tuesday, November 5 from 9:30 am to 10:30 am, the internationally acclaimed dancer and author Li Cunxin, a native of China and formerly a longtime Houston resident, will address students at The International School, an HISD charter school located within Sharpstown High School, located at 7504 Bissonnet, Houston, Texas 77074, near the intersection of Bissonet Street and Bonhomme Road.

Li, a highly sought after inspirational speaker who addresses corporate audiences across the world, has travelled from his home in Australia to Houston to help Writers in the Schools celebrate its 25th anniversary.  In keeping with the International School’s tradition of creating an atmosphere of international perspectives and academic success, WITS has arranged for Mr. Cunxin to address the talented and diverse student body of The International School in an assembly in the school’s auditorium.  Li will discuss the immigrant experience and how he overcame adversity in his native China to become an international star in Houston from 1981 to 1995, and later, a successful business person based in Australia.  Above all, his story will inspire these young students to work hard to achieve their dreams.  

WITS mission is to engage students in the pleasure and power of reading and writing.  Ranked the number one literary arts organization in Texas by the Texas Commission on the Arts, WITS has sent professional poets, fiction writers, and playwrights into classrooms in the Houston area to introduce new approaches to teaching writing in primary and secondary schools since 1983.  WITS is also involved in national initiatives, such as mentoring other writers-in-schools programs, serving as a model for multidisciplinary arts educators, and designing curricula for use in schools.   WITS  serves as a major force for educational change in Houston as the city’s largest literary arts organization.

The International School creates a college bound atmosphere for students and prepares them to compete in the World Market.  Its rigorous curriculum requires students to take Advanced Placement courses, four years of foreign language, and complete an internship with an international focus to graduate.  Students also participate in projects and trips that provide a worldwide perspective.

Li Cunxin is the best-selling author of his memoir, Mao's Last Dancer.  The book details his childhood in poverty stricken, rural China, his defection to the United States, and his time as a principal dancer at Houston Ballet where he became an international ballet star.  His book is the basis for the upcoming film also titled, Mao's Last Dancer.

More About the Speaker:
Li was born into utter poverty in a rural province of communist China, where he was selected to train in Madam Mao's Beijing Dance Academy at the age of 11. When he was 18, Li was awarded one of China's first cultural scholarships to go to America. Two years later, Li defected to the West in a dramatic standoff in the Chinese Consulate in Houston.  Li ultimately became a naturalized U.S. citizen and went on to dance with Houston Ballet as one of the world's best dancers, medaling at three International Ballet Competitions.  In 1995, Li and his family moved to Australia where Li finished his dancing career as a principal dancer with The Australian Ballet.  Li now works as a senior manager at one of Australia's largest stock trading firms.

The rich story of Li's life is recounted in his memoir Mao's Last Dancer, which was published by Penguin-Australia in 2003. Quickly rising to No. 1 on the Australian Non-Fiction Best-Seller List, Li's book was named in Amazon.com's Break-Out Books list, received the Christopher Award for Literature, the Book of the Year Award in Australia, and was short-listed for several other prestigious literary awards. Today, the book is currently in its 32nd reprint, has been translated into many languages, and is sold in 20 countries. In 2005, the Young Readers' Edition was released.

More About the Film:
The major motion picture, Mao's Last Dancer, premiered at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival.  The film received second place in the People's Choice Award at TIFF.  Announcement of a U.S. release date is anticipated soon.  Australian producer, Jane Scott, assembled a talented international team to bring this poignant yet triumphant story to the big screen, directed by Academy Award nominated director Bruce Beresford (Breaker Morant, Driving Miss Daisy, Tender Mercies, Black Robe) from a stunning adaptation by screenwriter Jan Sardi (Shine, The Notebook, Love's Brother). The film stars Kyle MacLachlan, Bruce Greenwood, Joan Chen, Jack Thompson, Steven Heathcote, Madeline Eastoe, Chi Cao, Chengwu Guo, and dancers from The Australian Ballet and Sydney Dance Company.