Rockhampton’s own Mary Li to return to dancing three decades after retiring

It has been 29 years since she retired from the stage but Rockhampton’s Mary Li, wife of Mao’s Last Dancer Li Cunxin, is set to make a comeback.

Three decades after retiring Mary Li will make ballet world headlines in June when she takes to the stage again for three special guest appearances in Queensland Ballet’s much anticipated production of The Sleeping Beauty.

Mary Li, whose husband is QB’s artistic director Li Cunxin, is QB ballet mistress and principal repetiteur. Li Cunxin is the author of the international bestseller Mao’s Last Dancer and Mary Li’s recent memoir Mary’s Last Dance is now also well on the way to become a bestseller too. The couple were the toast of the ballet world when they performed together before Mary’s retirement.

Mary Li and Li Cunxin. Pic Mark Cranitch.

In her book Mary Li tells the story of how she gave up dancing to look after he daughter Sofie who was born profoundly deaf.

The Sleeping Beauty was one of the ballets she danced in as an international star and now she will return to the stage in that same ballet taking on the character role of Aurora’s mother, the Queen. Mary Li says she has fond memories of the ballet.

‘The Sleeping Beauty is a beautiful enchanting story and I have fond memories of performing it with Houston Ballet with my husband Li Cunxin as my prince,” Mary says.

“I am really looking forward to being onstage again. There is something magical about stepping out as a character.”

The Li family featured on Australian story on Monday night and during that program Mary announced that she would return to the stage in June and since then QB has been swamped with calls about that.

Mary Li’s last professional performance in The Nutcracker in Houston in 1991 with Li Cunxin

QB executive director Dilshani Weerasinghe says the company wanted to celebrate Mary’s achievement and sacrifice.

“She is one of Queensland’s own, a girl from Rockhampton,” Ms Weerasinghe says. “She worked so hard and sacrificed so much to become an international star in her own right and then she walked away from her onstage career for the love of her daughter, Sophie. I was delighted to see her name on the cast list for the 2021 production of The Sleeping Beauty.”

And it seems to be working from a marketing point of view with a rush for tickets. You can see her onstage in The Sleeping Beauty in the Lyric Theatre at QPAC on June 8 at 6.30pm, June 10 at 7.30pm and June 15 at 6.30pm. Better get in quick though because the word is out!

qpac.com.au