One sunny March day on Angel Island, a hilly landmass in the middle of the San Francisco Bay, a dancer with a 40-ft braid attached to her head glided across a narrow concrete walkway. The audience sat on chairs in front of a long wooden building: a former detention center where – from 1910 to 1940 – half a million people, the majority Chinese, were held for months, even years, in prison-like conditions. Sometimes called “the Ellis Island of the west”, Angel Island’s immigration station is the unlikely setting, and…
Tag: Ballet
Li Cunxin retiring from Queensland Ballet due to ‘serious health concerns’
Li Cunxin, the renowned ballet dancer and author of bestselling memoir Mao’s Last Dancer, is retiring as the artistic director of Queensland Ballet due to ill health. On Tuesday, the Queensland Ballet confirmed the 62-year-old had been diagnosed with a heart condition and “has been troubled by serious health concerns since 2022”. He recently experienced “complications” and is retiring in order to recuperate. Li’s wife and fellow dancer Mary is being treated for cancer, and will also retire at the end of 2023 from her roles as ballet mistress and…