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.
Ben Stevenson
Charles Foster
Niang
Li Cunxin - adult
Elizabeth Mackey
Dia
Dilworth
Judge Woodrow Seals
Cynthia Dodds
Li Cunxin - teenage
Li Cunxin - boy
Lori
Mary McKendry
Bobby Cordner
David
Mason
Betty Lou
Cunmao - 19 yrs
Consul Zhang
Director Wang
Teacher Gao
Madame Official
Assistant Stage Manager
Anita Jones
Vice Consul Lan
Security Guard
Security Guard
Security Guard
Security Guard
China Desk Officer
Newsreader
TV Reporter
TV Reporter
TV Presenter
WTC Backstage Manager
Houston Ballet Conductor
Senator's Wife