Birmingham Royal Ballet Principal Dancer, Chi Cao, is to star in Bruce Beresford’s adaptation of Li Cunxin’s bestselling autobiography, Mao’s Last Dancer, which begins filming in China next week.
Considered one of the world’s top dancers, renowned for his technique, Chi Cao will play the adult Li Cunxin, whose inspirational story tells of how, towards the end of the Cultural Revolution, he was chosen to leave his peasant family and sent on an amazing journey … as it turned out towards freedom and personal triumph.
Born in China, Chi Cao trained at the Beijing Dance Academy and the Royal Ballet School. He joined Birmingham Royal Ballet in 1995 and progressed quickly throughout the ranks of the Company to be promoted to Principal in 2002. Chi is a virtuoso classical dancer, and often leads the Company in the classical repertory. His superb technique won him the gold medal in 1998 at the prestigious Varna ballet competitions.
The teenage Li Cunxin is to be played by Australian Ballet dancer Chengwu Guo.
The boy Li Cunxin is to be played by Huang Wen Bin, from Beijing.
This poignant yet triumphant story is to be directed by twice Academy nominated director Bruce Beresford (Breaker Morant, Driving Miss Daisy, Black Robe) from a stunning adaptation by screenwriter Jan Sardi (Shine, The Notebook, Love’s Brother) with producer Jane Scott (Shine, Head On, Crocodile Dundee) and China co-producer Geng Ling (Hero, House of Flying Daggers, Curse of the Golden Flower).
Several internationally renowned dancers have also been cast in Mao’s Last Dancer including Madeleine Eastoe (current Australian Ballet Principal Artist), Camilla Vergotis (former Australian Ballet Principal Artist, current Hong Kong Ballet Soloist) and Steven Heathcote (former Australian Ballet Principal Artist).
Graeme Murphy, founder of the Sydney Dance Company, is choreographer.
Paris-based Celluloid Dreams is the international sales agent for the film and domestic distributors are Hopscotch and Roadshow.
Filming begins mid-March in China, before moving to the USA and Australia.
[release from TM Publicity]