This summer the world sat on the edge of their seats to watch the Olympic Games in London. Though the athletes all have individual stories, the common thread in all of these examples is the enormous effort of the Olympians to excel.
Many families have spent large amounts of their income to help train the athletes, even to going bankrupt. The United States maintains an Olympic training center in Colorado to foster this success, and some athletes are separated from their families during training. This does raise certain ethical questions about the price of success.
Other countries have taken even more severe measures to win internationally. China is currently the prime example of this win at all costs philosophy. Though this book is about the development of ballet dancers, the underlying issues are the same and the story needs to be told. What does a country gain and lose when it takes 8- to 11-year-old children and intensively trains them in national academies designed to develop stars? This beautiful, yet painful book, "Dancing to Freedom: The True Story of Mao’s Last Dancer," tells one such story.
Li Cunxin, a poor peasant boy, lives with his parents and five brothers in the rural town of Quindao in northern China. The wretchedly-run Communist economy continually produces starvation and misery throughout the country. But Chairman Mao needs fresh faces of success to show the world the wonders of the "workers’ paradise." So throughout the country talented children are recruited in sports, dance and other activities to give China prestige.
Li is given a series of exercises by party officials and it is determined that he has the potential to become an outstanding ballet dancer. He tells his desperately poor family about this opportunity and they encourage him to accept the offer from the Communist officials. At least he may have a better life than the other six family members.
So, frightened and alone, he moves to a dance academy in Beijing to train with other young boys the Party has selected. For years the training continues and Li gradually becomes a brilliant ballet dancer. He is so talented that the government chooses him to study advanced ballet in the United States.
But as he grows in his talent as a ballet dancer there is a deep pain in his heart for his family. His only memory of his family is an old picture of his parents and Li thinks of them constantly. As he dances in "The Nutcracker" he receives the wonderful news that his parents have arrived from China to see his performance. The curtain rises and as he dances across the stage he anxiously looks for his aged parents. Suddenly his dreams come true and he soars through the air. What caused Li’s jubilation? Did his impoverished parents see him dance? Why did so much suffering accompany his rise to success? How much different are things today in China? To find out, go to the library and check out this fine autobiography of Li Cunxin.
While it is hard not to be thrilled by Li Cunxin’s accomplishments, the brutal system founded to create such champions is toxic. Numerous examples of this could be seen in the recent Olympics in the shattered faces of Chinese athletes only capable of winning silver medals. Success has to be more than just winning if it is to be worthwhile. This book is well worth reading to your children when discussing success in any area. Otherwise we will see repeats of the life of the Boston Red Sox star outfielder Jimmy Piersall. Written after he actually climbed the screen behind home plate during a game and his subsequent nervous breakdown, it is appropriately entitled "Fear Strikes Out."
