George Li was born on Feb. 18, 1935, in Hong Kong. His father, Alexander Li, was a circus acrobat who taught him find out how to do handstands; his mom was his first dance trainer. When Japan occupied Hong Kong in 1941, the household fled to Shanghai, after which his father went to western China to seek out work.
In Shanghai, a metropolis with a vibrant inhabitants of émigrés, George took dance classes from Russian lecturers; at 7, he started performing polkas and Russian dances in nightclubs to assist his mom get by. Typically he was paid in rice.
In 1945, George’s father died in a truck accident whereas making an attempt to return to Shanghai. 4 years later, George and his mom, fearing the Communist takeover of Shanghai, evacuated to the Philippines, the place they spent two years in a refugee camp.
Earlier than they left the Philippines, George’s mom warned him about what could be required if he needed a future in dance. In an oral historical past interview for the College of Nevada, Las Vegas, in 2024, he recalled her saying, “Look right here, George, you’re Asian, a part of you, and we’re going to America, and there will likely be all white individuals, so that you higher be 10 instances higher.”
Their immigration to the USA was sponsored by a buddy of the household who additionally launched George to the Faculty of American Ballet.
When he later stopped dancing, his profession was largely forgotten by the general public. In 2022, Ms. Lin, the filmmaker, was taking a look at previous photographs on the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, when she noticed a publicity shot of Mr. Lee from “The Nutcracker.”
