“Mao’s Last Dancer” is based on a true story pitting life in Communist China versus life in the United States for the favor of a talented young ballet dancer. Its genesis is the autobiography of Li Cunxin, centered around 1980.
It succeeds as a rags-to-riches story, a love story, a tale of intrigue, a history lesson, a coming-of-age concern, a family affair, a treatise on trust, a stage for the arts, and more. There is something for everyone in this film.
"Across My Spectrum" 
In the 80’s many ballet dancers from communist countries fled the west. That was the golden decade for Dance, I reckon, as the 90’s and the 2000’s came along, the classical and modern dance fever that existed then seemed to fade away. The greatest of those exiled dancers was the Russian Mihail Baryshnikov, who followed the even greater Rudolf Nureyev. Thanks for a nice review about a possibly mediocre movie.
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