Mao’s Last Dancer takes final bow as artistic director for Qld Ballet

They’ve waited decades to dance together and today it finally happened. This is the bitter-sweet moment Li Cunxin took his final bow with his successor Leanne Benjamin.

They’ve waited decades to dance together – and here in Brisbane, on a perfect summer’s day, they made it happen.

As Li Cunxin took his final bow as artistic director of Queensland Ballet on Wednesday, his long-time friend Leanne Benjamin was ushered in as his successor.

“We’ve basically chased each other around the world,” Ms Benjamin told The Courier-Mail ahead of the official handover in the Thomas Dixon Centre in West End.

Mr Li, 62, said he and Ms Benjamin “go back a long way” and respected each other’s careers.

“For many years while dancing in different continents, I was in North America and she was mainly in Europe, we tried to come together to perform but we never really had the chance.

Outgoing QLD Ballet Artistic Director Li Cunxin with his replacement Leanne Benjamin. Pic: Lyndon Mechielsen

“I am so pleased she is the person taking the baton; she is somebody with such rich experiences as an artist.”

Mao’s Last Dancer, as he is famously known, said he was emotional about leaving Queensland Ballet.

“I woke up very early, really reflecting on the past 11-and-a-half years … I am satisfied and also grateful for opportunities afforded to me to transform this company into the company it is today.

“It will be such a luxury for me to have nothing on my agenda now; to have the time to rest, refresh, recover, and to spend quality time with my dear wife Mary.”

New QLD Ballet Artistic Director Leanne Benjamin.

Mr Li has heart problems while his wife – who has served as ballet mistress – is battling cancer.

Ms Benjamin, 59, who studied ballet in Rockhampton as a child with Mary Li, has spent the last 43 years in the UK, including as vice chair of the board of governors for the Royal Ballet Companies and the Royal Ballet’s longest-serving ballerina.

As Queensland Ballet’s first female artistic director, she hinted at bringing in overseas female choreographers but didn’t want to “spill the beans” yet.

“Already, having just been appointed, I’ve received so many messages from around the world – it has been incredible, so to have friends in high places will be very useful.

“I have worked with so many wonderful creatives over the years and never thought about the position of directorship, really, but hopefully they will be kind and open themselves up to working with the dancers, for me it’s all about the dancers.”

Li Cunxin with his replacement Leanne Benjamin.

Named the 2023 Australian of the Year in the UK, Ms Benjamin was one of 14 Australians – along with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese – who attended King Charles’s coronation.

She told The Courier-Mail she intended to lobby the federal government to provide equitable funding to Queensland Ballet, the second largest of the nation’s fifth major companies.

Queensland Ballet chair Brett Clark said on Wednesday: “Leanne was certainly a standout but we searched the world and the calibre of applicants was staggering.

“We had strong internal interest and also from around Australia – in the end we got down to two or three and we asked them their vision for Queensland Ballet and what it would look like going forward with the Olympics and honestly Leanne has the tenacity, the relevancy and a strong commercial acumen like Li has.”