12 - Chi Cao, Principal Birmingham Royal Ballet

A principal dancer with Birmingham Royal Ballet in England, Chi Cao is undoubtedly driven and focused on striving for the best. A beautiful, precise dancer with jumps akin to Baryshnikov, he is described on the Birmingham Royal Ballet's website a virtuoso classical dancer. Born and raised in communist china Chi came from an amazing dance history. You will learn that his dad was chosen to move from a small village to Beijing to train as a professional until the cultural revolution disbanded all arts. From this rich and amazing past, Chi has brought a rich sense of discipline and drive propelling him to the top. American audiences may be most familiar with Chi Cao's work on the big screen. He portrays Li Cunxin in the motion picture Mao's Last Dancer which is a true story of a boy from china who trained in Beijing and later defected from China.