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Schedule

Thursday, April 25, 2024
7 p.m. Film Screening
9 p.m. Conversation

The film Mao's Last Dancer tells the remarkable true story of dancer and artist Li Cunxin who, after being invited to join the Houston Ballet by Artistic Director Ben Stevenson during a visit to China, became an acclaimed and eventual principal dancer with the company. After deciding to remain in the U.S. rather than returning to China, Li was forcibly detained at the Chinese consulate, sparking an international incident with his eventual release secured through the assistance of immigration attorney Charles Foster. The 2009 film, based on Li's autobiography,  was directed by Bruce Beresford and features Chi Cao, Kyle MacLachlan, Bruce Greenwood, and Joan Chen in key roles.

Asia Society Texas is thrilled to welcome Li Cunxin back to Houston with a screening of the film, followed by a conversation with Mr. Foster moderated by Ambassador Chase Untermeyer, who also played a role in the real-life events.

Mao's Last Dancer
Australia, 2009, 1 hour 57 minutes
Director: Bruce Beresford | Languages: English, Mandarin

About the Speakers

Li Cunxin’s journey is simply remarkable. He was born into utter poverty in Mao’s Communist China; at a very young age he was selected to train at Madame Mao’s Beijing Dance Academy. So began Li’s journey. The seven years of harsh training regime at the Beijing Dance Academy taught him discipline, resilience, determination, and perseverance. Li’s astounding drive and relentless work made him one of the best dancers in the world. He danced around the world including Houston Ballet and The Australian Ballet as a Principal Dancer. 

Li then made a successful career transition from ballet into finance. He was a senior manager at one of the largest stockbroking firms in Australia, was named 2009 Australian Father of the Year and Queensland Australian of the Year in 2014, and received the Asia Society’s Game Changer Award in 2015. He was awarded the Queen’s AO Honour for his distinguished service and contribution to Arts and Ballet. Li was the Artistic Director of Queensland Ballet, which he has transformed to a world standard company. 

The inspirational story of Li’s life is recounted in his memoir Mao’s Last Dancer, which quickly rose to number one on the Australian bestseller list and won the Book of the Year Award in Australia and received the Christopher Award for literature in the USA. It went on to become an international bestseller. It’s in the 60th reprint. Mao’s Last Dancer is also a blockbuster film.

Li’s story is a living example of overcome adversity and achieve excellence in life. 

Charles C. Foster, who served as Chairman of Asia Society Texas Center for 20+ years, is Chairman of Foster LLP, one of the largest global immigration law firms. He received his Bachelors from the University of Texas and his J.D. from the University Of Texas School Of Law. Charles is a board member and the founding Chairman of the State Bar of Texas Immigration and Nationality Law Section, the past national President of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and the Chairman of the American Bar Association Coordinating Committee on Immigration Law.

Charles served as the principal advisor to President Bush on U.S. immigration policy during the 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns and was an advisor on immigration policy issues to President Barack Obama in the 2008 campaign. He is also Chairman of U.S.-China Partnerships, Americans for Immigration Reform, a 501(c)(3) affiliate of the Greater Houston Partnership and the GHP’s Immigration Task Force.

He is a member of the Board of Directors of the GHP, as well as its Executive Committee and on the Board of the Houston Ballet. He was designated a “Texas Super Lawyer” from 2003 to 2014 by Texas Monthly, the “Top Notch Lawyer in Immigration” in the Texas Lawyer “Go To Lawyers Guide,” the "#1 Ranked Immigration Lawyer in Texas" by Chambers USA, and he was listed as one of the nation’s “20 most powerful employment attorneys” in immigration by Human Resource Executive in June 2011. He was the 2013 recipient of the Houston Bar Association’s prestigious Leon Jaworski Award and was featured in the critically acclaimed movie Mao’s Last Dancer. 

About the Moderator

The Honorable Chase Untermeyer has held positions at all four levels of government – local, state, national, and international — over a period of more than 40 years, with work in journalism, academia, and business as well.

A 1968 graduate of Harvard College, he served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. He was a Texas state representative; an assistant secretary of the Navy under President Reagan; director of Presidential Personnel and director of the Voice of America under the first President Bush; and U.S. ambassador to Qatar under the second President Bush. He is currently professor of practice at the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston. Ambassador Untermeyer is the author of three volumes of diary-based memoirs of the Reagan-Bush era and the book How Important People Act. In October 2023, Ambassador Untermeyer was part of a Track II dialogue effort in China.

Performing Arts and Culture programs at Asia Society Texas are presented by Syamal and Susmita Poddar. Major support comes from Nancy C. Allen, Chinhui Juhn and Eddie Allen, The Brown Foundation, Inc., the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance, The Clayton Fund, Houston Endowment Inc. Generous funding also provided by The Anchorage Foundation of Texas, The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts, and Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas), National Endowment for the Arts, Texas Commission on the Arts. Additional support is by the Friends of Asia Society, a dedicated group of individuals and organizations committed to bringing exceptional programming to Asia Society Texas.

Performing Arts and Culture Presenting Sponsors

Syamal and Susmita Poddar

Performing Arts and Culture Program Sponsors

Promotional Partner

About Asia Society Texas

Asia Society Texas believes in the strength and beauty of diverse perspectives and people. As an educational institution, we advance cultural exchange by celebrating the vibrant diversity of Asia, inspiring empathy, and fostering a better understanding of our interconnected world. Spanning the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, our programming is rooted in the educational and cultural development of our community — trusting in the power of art, dialogue, and ideas to combat bias and build a more inclusive society.

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