Li Cunxin was born into a family of seven children and terrible poverty in 1961, in China. Mao Zedong was the ruler of Communist China at this point, and the author really wanted to serve the Communist Party in some capacity. He ultimately wound up joining the Youth League of the Communist Party, where he was chosen to attend the Beijing Dance Academy by Madame Mao, Mao Zedong's fourth wife. Cunxin attended the school, where he endured training each day for sixteen hours a day. He eventually graduated at the top of his class. He went to the United States to study dance at the Houston Ballet, where a LOT of drama happened. I do not want to spoil the book for those who are interested in reading it, but the author really went through a lot when he got to the United States. His dance career was very lucrative and entertaining to read about.

I picked this book up because it was in the Asian history section, and I didn't have a lot of books about Asian history at the time. I love ballet, so I thought that I would like this book, and I did! I loved learning about the author and his career. I am glad to see that he was successful and has lived a good life. Apparently, there is a movie about this, and I would like to see it now that I have read this book. Aside from the interesting ballet moments, it was very interesting to see how one's political ideas change and evolve over time. Exposure to education and other thought processes can have impacts on people, and I have always been interested in that as well. I was very pleased with this book selection.