‘Mao’s Last Dancer’ recalls his career with the Houston Ballet — and his dramatic defection from China to the U.S.

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Back in 1981, ballet dancer Li Cunxin made international headlines when he defected to the United States instead of returning to his native China. It happened here in Houston. He was detained, against his will, at the Chinese consulate here for 21 hours until he was eventually released and allowed to remain in the country with the help of area immigration attorney Charles Foster.

In 2003, Li published his memoir Mao's Last Dancer, which was later adapted into a 2009 film of the same name. Both recount Li's incredible story, from growing up in rural China to training hard for several years at the Beijing Dance Academy, until he was selected by Houston Ballet artistic director Ben Stevenson to come to the city to train and dance with the company, eventually becoming the ballet's principal dancer.

Just last month, Li returned to Houston and spoke at Asia Society Texas, following a screening of the film adaptation of Mao's Last Dancer.

In the audio above, Li tells Houston Matters producer Garrett Bohlmann about his early career and experience here in Houston, as well as how he first discovered ballet.