Mao's Last Dancer (2009) is an Australian film which tells the story of Chinese born Australian ballet dancer, Li Cunxin. When he was 11 and living in Shandong Province with his family, Li Cunxin was selected to leave his family and train in a Beijing dance academy for 7 years. After spending some time with the Houston Ballet as an exchange student, Li defects to the United States. In 1995, Li Cunxin moved to Australia with his Australian-born wife, Mary McKendry and became a principal dancer with the Australian Ballet.