Mao's Last Dancer

Andrea and I saw Mao's Last Dancer on Friday.  It was an excellent movie!  It is based on the life of Li Cunxin, a Ballet dancer from the Beijing Dance Academy.  He was born into poverty in the Shandong province of the People's Republic of China, but was taken to the Beijing Dance Academy at the age of eleven.  He develops into a wonderful dancer and Ben Stevenson's Houston Ballet Company selects him to come study with them for a couple of months.  While in America, he faces inner conflict between his allegiance to the Chinese Communist Party and his new found feelings of freedom.  However, after falling for a girl, who he meets at the Ballet studio, he decides to stay in America by marrying her.  It is hard to say whether or not he truly loved her, because he decides to stay in America only after he hears that he can through marriage.  I think that he thought he loved her, and thus wanted to marry her.  They were still in the "honeymoon phase" of their relationship and never had a fight, so he probably thought it would work out and he would get the added bonus of staying in America and being able to dance for the Houston Ballet.  Their marriage sets the stage for conflict and struggle and then the later freedom and happiness of Li Cunxin. 

Aside from the story, I also enjoyed the dancing immensely.  Unlike most movies that involve dancing, this one slowed down the movements so you could see what the dancer was actually doing.  It was amazing to see the strength and technique of the dancers, especially the movements of Chi Cho, the dancer portraying Li Cunxin.  I definitely give this move two thumbs up and recommend anyone interested in dancing, especially ballet, to go and see this one! 

And......

CHEER CHEER FOR OLD NOTRE DAME,
wake up the echoes cheering her name,
Send a volley cheer on high,
Shake down the thunder from the sky.
What though the odds be great or small
Old Notre Dame will win over all,
While her loyal sons are marching
Onward to victory.

Notre Dame finally won a game after losing three in a row!!!  They are now 2-3.  Hopefully they can have a repeat next week against Pittsburgh.  Also, the Redskins won today!! Woot woot!  But they got lucky, they could have lost in those last few seconds if the other team had not dropped the ball.  I guess a win's a win.