“Where do I begin?” laughs Li Cunxin as he tallies up the physical toll of a life in ballet and what must feel like accumulated years spent poised and en pointe. Toes, ankles, knees, back. Elbows from lifting whole other humans. Walking alongside the Brisbane river in the blinding brightness of a Queensland spring lunchtime, Li knows as he approaches his mid-60s all these physical grizzles are to be expected, sad but true.
More so after a lifetime of pushing his body to its extreme limits as a dancer. But as far as health concerns go, his heart was the shock.
