On Thursday, February 2nd, the Asian Studies Department in collaboration with the Chinese Student Association held their annual Lunar New Year Celebration in Gaylord hall. Many Asian countries do not celebrate the New Year on January 1st, as they use a lunar calendar, which is slightly desynchronised from the one Western countries are used to. Lunar New Year is the biggest holiday in China, lasting from Lunar New Year’s Eve to the 15th of the first lunar month. This period is also known as the Spring Festival. This is one of the busiest times in China, as almost everyone rushes to get back to their families and friends.
The Asian Studies Department uses this event to showcase students their skills, and let the classes demonstrate their knowledge. They also invite guest groups to showcase their own performances. This year, there were many familiar faces, but also some variations and new acts. This year, there were two guests, a traditional Balinese dance group-directed by CC’s Made Lasmawan, and the United States Air Force Academy. USAFA had two performances, the first was a song “The Same Table as You” 同桌的你, and the second was a skit. The elementary Chinese performed two old pop songs familiar to everyone who has taken a Chinese class at CC or abroad, Friends(朋友) and Fairy Tale(童话). And of course their performance would not have been complete without the grand finale, “Little Apple Dance” (小苹果）. The elementary Japanese class amazed everyone with their rendition of a dance from a TV show called “Koi Dance”(恋ダンス). Throughout the event, CSA handed out gifts in the form a traditional Chinese Red Packet-红包. The packets contained souvenirs and other little gifts, as well as some Chinese money-元.
However, the bulk of the acts were performed by individual groups of students. From Katlyn teaching the audience how to wish each other a happy year of the rooster to dances and songs, CC students showed off a wide range of skills. One of the first groups up was Shiying, Angel, and Anqi, who performed a dance from the play “The Peony Pavilion” 牡丹亭. Shiying then went on to do a solo dance to “Falling Flowers” 落花. Another familiar face to those who have attended previous Lunar New Year Events or events such as Asian Culture Night was Michael Wu. Michael performed a solo Kung-Fu 功夫 demonstration, and also did a musical performance with Angel, Ai Yu, and Qi Zheng, all of whom used traditional Chinese instruments. The last student group consisted of Julian, James, and Mitchell, who played a piece called Jasmine Flower 茉莉花, a folk song from the 18th century.
This is an extremely fun event, regardless if you have attended them previously or for the first time. The performances are amazing, and for those who need a little extra motivation, food and snacks are provided-if you get there on time. Special thanks to the all the performers, from CC and elsewhere. Thanks to the Asian Studies and East Asian Language Department for their support in setting up the event. Also, thanks to the Chinese Student Association for their contributions to performances, setting up, and cleaning up the event. And finally, thanks to the Chinese Cultural Program Coordinator Anqi for organizing, performing, setting up, and cleaning up the event.
