Mao's Last Dancer Page #4

If you do not leave voluntarily

you will all be removed.

Oh, yeah?

Just try.

We are not leaving

until we see Li.

Mr Stevenson, but you assured me

you are not at fault.

I'm not. And I'm not saying

I don't want Li to go back.

I'm just saying...

well, let me see him.

Just gonna

have to wait. Oh!

'Houston Chronicle', Mr Foster.

Is Li Cunxin being held

inside the consuate?

I'm not making any statements

at this time.

- Are you his attorney?

- Thank you.

You know, when I was little,

my aunt had a cat

named Chairman Miaow.

I could never figure out why.

Miaow.

- Chairman Miaow.

- Oh, for God's sake, Dilworth!

Here, kitty-kitty!

A Chinese puzzle

is taking place in Houston,

involving an exchange student

from Peking, an American girl,

the government of

the People's Republic of China

and the Department of State.

His attorney

is believed to have

contacted the Vice President

to put pressure

on the Chinese Government in Peking

in order to effect his release.

I hope you don't get me

into trouble, Charles,

or you're gonna be sorry now.

I hope so too, Judge.

I just need you to sign

this restraining order.

Lets say we worry

about that later, hmm?

You better take a look at this.

Excuse me, please. Thank you.

Yes?

I have an order I'm serving

under authority

of the US Marshal.

We open at nine o'clock.

Would you please tell

Consul Zhang

that Charles Foster is here?

Wait.

- Mr Foster?

- Not now!

Sir, you should know

the Vice Presdent

has had discussions with

Premier Deng Xiaoping.

We expect instructions will soon be

issued from Peking,

via the Chinese Embassy

in Washington.

Li?

Come to bed, please.

You can't keep doing this

night after night.

They're watching.

Theres no-one, Li.

No-one's watching.

Come on, come back to bed.

Hello, Li.

Hello, Ben.

Um, we go to Florida.

Liz's mother she live there,

in West Palm Beach.

Hmm. What are you going to do

when you get there?

Get job.

What, in a supermarket?

No, I go for audition. Liz too.

Oh, no Li. It... Oh!

It's not that easy, you know.

I mean, it takes time

to get established.

And I know this isn't

your home,

but right now,

it's the next best thing.

You don't know a soul in America

outside of Houston.

Of course,

youre a brilliant dancer

and you're very popular here,

so I'd be lying

if I said I was doing it

entrely for you.

Elizabeth?

She's just...

Shes not good enough

to dance with the company, Li.

But you know, the company

is having open audtions.

We're required to do that once a year.

They're coming up.

- Alright?

- Alright, I'll think about it.

Alright.

What did he want?

He, um, offer me

a contract, as soloist.

- Soloist?

- Yeah.

Wow! Did he say

anything about me?

Yes.

He said you can

go for audition.

- Audition?

- Yes.

Liz, you very good dancer.

The open auditions.

Yes. Maybe we dance

in the company together.

Be good, no?

Mm hm. Yeah.

- If you still want go to Florida...

- No.

No, this is a great

opportunity for you.

Are you sure, Liz?

Yeah, I'm sure. Yeah.

Congratulations.

Keep it crisp.

Lori, try not to pull focus.

You're a unit.

Alright, Lori?

Lori, you're standing out.

Back to the top.

Come on, once again.

Lori?

He just put me back

in the corps.

What for? Why?

I thnk he's trying to get me

to walk away from my contract.

No! You prima ballerina.

Not anymore.

Mary McKendry,

Ben's favourite.

He got her back from

the Australian Ballet.

You must have met her

in China.

She's gonna be doing

Swan Lake with you.

Lori, Ben do this to you

because you help me.

No. Li, that's not true.

Yes, it is.

I cause many problems.

For you, for Ben, for Liz.

For my family.

Have you tried

contacting them?

I write letter. Nothing

What about calling?

No.

Making too much trouble,

maybe danger for my family.

Better not.

Better they forget

their sixth son.

You're OK. You're OK.

Shh, shh, shh.

It was just a dream.

Just a dream. Shh.

Hi.

I come home, right?

Big mess.

What's... Rice in sink.

That's no good.

So that's why you're angry.

Want me to cook and clean

for you? I'm not your mother.

Here, got you some noodles.

No, you not my mother.

My mother, she work

very hard, all day, all her life.

What you do?

What do you think I do?

Everything is fine for you.

You have your career.

It's not fine, Liz.

You not understand!

No, you don't understand!

I want to dance, Li.

I have my dreams, too.

At least you can go to sleep

at night thinking about yours.

In night, I think of

my family in China.

I worry, Liz. There's no sleep.

Just nightmares

and terrible feeling all the time.

Well, what about my feelings, huh?

What about me?

You don't understand.

No, stop telling me

I don't understand.

I want to dance, Li.

I've tried to be what you want

me to be, and I can't do it.

I can't do this anymore.

I'm going to San Francisco

to audition.

I need to get into a company.

You understand, don't you, Li?

Yes, I understand.

When we got married,

was it because you loved me

or was it because

you wanted to stay?

Bec... because...

because I love you.

I love you too.

It's been

five long years since Li Cunxin

made his dramatic leap

to freedom in Houston, Texas

from communist China.

He's here in Washington

and he'll be dancing at

the Kennedy Center tonight

and we're thrilled to have him

with us on the show today.

Wecome to Washington, Li.

Thank you.

It's great to be here.

Li, you've toured wth

the Houston Ballet Company

and danced all over the world,

but your freedom

came at a price.

Yes, it did.

I haven't been allowed

to go back to China since.

But your entire family is there.

Yes.

Have you heard from them?

Do you even know

how they are?

No, I haven't heard from them.

How do you survive,

not knowing?

I carry a picture of them

wherever I go.

And when I dance,

I dance for them.

I saw you dance together

in New York.

I've never seen

such exquisite partnering.

Thank you very much.

You made it look so natural.

That's because he is.

Well, it does help to have

the right partner.

Li, there's someone here

who wants to see you.

Hello, Cunxin.

I'm working at the embassy

in Washington now.

You have made us

very proud tonight.

Thank you. Thank you.

Excuse me.

Your mother and father

are well.

I took the liberty of checking.

You don't know

how much that means to me.

If I have a dream, it's to be able

to go back one day.

I know.

Is there any chance?

I'm afraid not enough time

has passed, Cunxin.

But I will see what I can do.

Thank you.

I really appreciate that.

Thank you.

Lades and gentlemen,

I'm sorry, there's going to be

a slight delay.

We have some VIPs coming in

from out of town,

and when they arrive,

which won't be long now,

I'm sure they'll be forgiven.

So thank you very much

for your patience

and understanding.

Uh, Li, we're just holding

the curtain for 15 minutes.

Why?

There's some VIPs arriving.

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