Li was the sixth of seven brothers, born into poverty in the Li Commune near the city ofQingdao in the Shandong province of the People's Republic of China. He often had to support his extremely poor family. Li's early life coincided with Mao Zedong's rule over the new Communist nation. Li had a strong desire to serve China's Communist Party. He was quite politically devout, eventually joining in the CCP's Youth League. At the age of eleven, he was chosen by Madame Mao's cultural advisors to attend the Beijing Dance Academy, where students had to undergo 16-hour-a-day training. He attended the Academy for seven years. The regime in Beijing Dance was harsh, starting each morning at 5:30. Li performed well in the politics class, but did badly in ballet. This changed when he met Teacher Xiao, who had a passion for ballet. Xiao's passion influenced Li, and by the end of the seven years' training he became a very good dancer. Artistic Director of the Houston BalletBen Stevenson was teaching two semesters at the Beijing Dance Academy. He offered a full scholarship for two dancers to study at the Houston Ballet summer school and Li was chosen as one. After his study at the summer school, Li defected to the West. He was held in the Chinese Consulate in Houston, his defection creating headlines in America. He had begun a relationship with an aspiring American dancer, Elizabeth Mackey, and in 1981, they married so that Li could avoid deportation. After 21 hours of negotiations, and intervention by George Bush Sr., Li was allowed to stay in the US as a free man, but his Chinese citizenship was revoked. Li subsequently danced with the Houston Ballet for sixteen years, during which he won two silver and a bronze medal at International Ballet Competitions. While dancing in London, he met ballerina Mary McKendry from Rockhampton, Australia. They married in 1987. In 1995 they moved to Melbourne, Australia, with their two children. Li became a principal dancer with The Australian Ballet. McKendry and Li have three children: Sophie Thomas and Bridie. In July 2012, Li was named as Artistic Director of the Queensland Ballet. Li established himself as a mainstay of Brisbane's cultural scene. He was named Australian Father of the Year in 2009. In July 2016, Barbara Baehr and Robert Whyte from the Queensland Museum named a newly discovered spider species Maratus licunxini after Li Cunxin. Dr Baehr said a Queensland Ballet performance of Li Cunxin's A Midsummer Night's Dream reminded her of the stunning mating display of the peacock spider. Li said he was honoured to have the spider named after him saying "having seen this incredible spider, the intricate mating dance, the fancy peacock markings, I can understand why Barbara would make a link with our ballet dancers." After 18 years off-stage, Cunxin returned for a one-off performance as Drosselmeyer, specially choreographed by Ben Stevenson, in The Nutcracker for the Queensland Ballet, dancing again with his wife, Mary McKendry, with whom he last danced in this work 26 years ago in Houston. In the 2019 Birthday Honours, Cunxin was appointed officer of the Order of Australia for "distinguished service to the performing arts, particularly to ballet, as a dancer and artistic director".
Career as a stockbroker
After arriving in Australia in 1995, when sidelined by a sprained ankle, Li occupied himself by gaining work experience with ANZSecurities and embarking on a three-year diploma course with the Australian Securities Institute. He had previously become interested in the stock market while in Houston. The Australian Ballet and ANZ Securities accommodated his desire to work at two professions simultaneously, dancing and stockbroking. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays he worked at the stockbroking firm from 7:30am till noon when he arrived at the Australian Ballet for rehearsals and to prepare for performances. He followed this routine for two years. He believed these were his best years as a dancer. "I got to a level I thought I would never reach, a fusion of technique and artistry. When I was younger I might have been better technically, but I was lacking artistic maturity." Li retired from ballet in 1999 at the age of 38 and joined Bell Potter Securities to establish its Asian desk.
