The Peasant Prince

In a poor village in northern China, a small boy is about to be taken away from everything he's ever known. He is so afraid, but his mother urges him to follow his dreams. For soon he will become a dancer, one of the finest dancers in the world...So begins The Peasant Prince, the true story of Li Cunxin's extraordinary life. Based upon his internationally bestselling memoir, Mao's Last Dancer, this remarkable picture book captures the essence of one of the most inspiring stories to come from China in many years. Li's journey of courage and determination is simply told, and is as powerful as any fairytale.Scored with superb music from the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra's 2009 stage production of The Peasant Prince.

Li Cunxin (pronounced "Lee Schwin Sing") was born in 1961, in the New Village, Li Commune, near the city of Qingdao on the coast of north-east China. The sixth of seven sons in a poor rural family, Li's peasant life in Chairman Mao's communist China changed dramatically when, at the age of eleven, he was chosen by Madame Mao's cultural advisers to become a student at the Beijing Dance Academy. Li went on to become one of the best male dancers in the world. Li's autobiography, Mao's Last Dancer has been published in over twenty countries. A children's version of the book was released in 2005 and a feature-length film was released in 2009. He is now a senior manager in a major stockbroking firm and lives in Melbourne, Australia, with his wife Mary and their three children, Sophie, Tom and Bridie.