One Arm, One Leg, Two Big Hearts

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Dancers Ma Li, she with one arm, and Zhai Xiaowei, he with one leg, complement each other beautifully in a moving ballet performance. A perfect example of making the most of what you’ve got to work with.

Ma Li and Zhai Xiaowei

According to the accompanying story on YouTube, Ma Li was a promising professional ballerina when she lost her right arm in a car accident in 1996 at the age of nineteen. After her boyfriend left her, she tried to kill herself, only to be saved by her parents. She learned to live with her disability and soon opened a small bookstore.

Five years later in 2001, she was invited to compete at the fifth national special performing art competition for handicapped performers and won the gold medal. In September 2005, she met twenty-one-year-old Xiaowei, who was being trained to be a cyclist for the national Special Olympics. He had never danced before.

Xiaowei had climbed on a tractor when he was four years old, fell off it and lost his left leg. His dad asked him, “The doctor will have to amputate your leg. Are you afraid?” He couldn’t comprehend what would be so different, so he said no. His dad said, “You are going to face many challenges and difficulties in life, are you afraid?” He asked, “What are ‘challenges and difficulties?’ Do they taste good?” With tears in his eyes, his dad laughed and said, “Yes, they’re like your favorite candies. You just need to eat them one piece at a time!”

Xiaowei initially didn’t understand how he could “dance,” so Li invited him to see her performing “Hand in Hand” with another male actor. He felt that he saw a perfect soul dancing on the stage and agreed to give it a try. Remember, he had no dancing background . . . and she is a perfectionist. Just for the one “drop” move at 3:41 of the clip, he landed her on the hard floor more than one thousand times! To get the move right, they started at 8 AM and finally nailed it shortly after 8 PM!

In April 2007, they were one of the finalists among 7,000 competitors in China’s 4th CCTV national dance competition. They were the first handicapped couple to ever enter the competition. They won the silver medal with a 99.17 score and the audience popular vote. And Li and Xiaowei became an instant national hit.

ABOUT PHIL BOLSTA

Phil is the author of Sixty Seconds: One Moment Changes Everything, a collection of 45 inspiring, life-changing stories from prominent people he interviewed, including Joan Borysenko, Deepak Chopra, geneticist Dr. Francis Collins, acclaimed sportswriter Frank Deford, Dr. Larry Dossey, Wayne Dyer, Dan Millman, Caroline Myss, Dr. Christiane Northrup, Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen, Dr. Bernie Siegel, James Van Praagh, singer Billy Vera, Doreen Virtue, Neale Donald Walsch, and bassist Victor Wooten.

Here is a three-minute video that introduces you to Phil and his book.

Reading this book is like spending a few minutes face to face with each of the contributors and listening to their personal stories. Click here to read unsolicited testimonials from readers. Learn more by visiting the official Sixty Seconds website.

Tags: ballet, disabled dancers, Ma Li, Zhai Xiaowei