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The world-class Queensland Ballet will perform at the ‘Future2 Gala Dinner’ during the Financial Planning Association (FPA) 2015 Professionals Congress in Brisbane next month.
Proudly supported by IRESS for the fourth year running, the charity dinner is the signature social event of the FPA Professionals Congress. In addition to the ballet performance, internationally acclaimed dancer and Queensland Ballet Artistic Director Li Cunxin will be guest speaker. Li is well-known for his international best-selling autobiography Mao’s Last Dancer, which has received numerous awards and was adapted as an Australian feature film in 2009.
Mark Rantall, CEO of the FPA, said he was honoured that Li had also agreed to be a keynote session speaker during the Congress, sharing stories about how he has helped organisations shape their future, with an emphasis on giving back to communities.
“Our dinner guests are in for a visual treat. Added to this, we will hear a dramatic story about how Li came from an obscure background to perform on the world stage, overcoming battles to shape his own successful future,” he added.
Plucked from a poor village in China at the age of 11, Li was selected by Madame Mao’s cultural advisors to attend the Beijing Dance Academy. In 1979, he joined Houston Ballet as an exchange student, famously defected to the United States while he was there and went on to achieve the rank of Principal in 1982. Amongst many awards and accolades, Li won two silver and one bronze medal at three international ballet competitions, and two Princess Grace Awards.
The dinner will raise money for the Future2 Foundation, the FPA’s charitable foundation. Last year, FPA members raised $267,000 for disadvantaged young Australians, through national fundraising efforts and donations.
Recipients of the 2015 Future2 Make the Difference! grants, worth a combined $110,000 this year and up from $70,000 in 2014, will also be announced during the dinner.
The Future2 Gala Dinner complements a robust program of 24 Congress workshops, a Women in Financial Planning breakfast, new Ted style keynote sessions and a range of high class speakers including award winning journalist Jennifer Byrne, futurist Chris Riddell, and social researcher and thought leader Mark McCrindle.
For more information about the FPA Professionals Congress, and to reserve your place for the Future2 Gala Dinner, please visit: www.fpacongress.com.au