Dancing to Freedom: The True Story of Mao’s Last Dancer

"I was always hungry. At night we slept head to toe, crammed on a hard bed. . . . And my brothers and I were luckier than some in our village. We survived." Li Cunxin dreamed of seeing the world outside the small town in China where he was born. Then a group of government officials visited and offered him the chance to study ballet in Beijing. It was an opportunity he couldn't turn down, but it would mean leaving his family behind-ultimately, half a world behind. Historical note. Full-color ink, watercolor, and oil paintings.