The lion dance opened the 11th annual Lunar New Year celebration at Herricks High School on Saturday night, dispelling evil spirits and giving good luck for the new year, as Chinese tradition has it.
Two students controlling its paper mache head and tail made sudden well-coordinated movements to the accompaniment of a drumbeat and the delight of the crowd.
The stylized bushy-faced yellow and green lion struck different poses to portray emotions from anger to happiness and playfulness. The young children in the audience were alternately frightened by the lion or excitedly laughing at it as they put red envelopes in its mouth, signifying good luck.
After the performance Herricks sophomore Kevin An was beaming as he talked about how much he liked being the lion’s head in the celebration of the Year of the Dragon sponsored by the Chinese American Association of North Hempstead.
“Personally I like participating with little kids coming across the room handing envelopes,” An said.
For Daniel Hsin, president of Asian American Cultural Club at Herricks High, who was the lion’s lush tail, being involved in the experience is a rare opportunity to perform an ancient cultural tradition of his Chinese heritage.
“We can’t really find this anywhere else,” Hsin said, adding that exposing the community to aspects of Chinese culture “is something that we need to enhance.”
The lion was a tough act to follow, but there was much to come.
There was Peng Li, who performed a traditional Chinese-costumed face-change dance, wowing the crowd with multi-colored mask changes, threatening and comic.
A group of Herricks Chinese grade schoolers sang two songs – one about being polite and the other about how their fingers work – and even without translation, their lilting voice and precise gestures communicated something pleasant that one didn’t need to understand.
High school students from the Asian American Cultural Club put on contemporary vignettes about conflicting values over arranged marriages. And a boys quartet of high school students performed an original tune.
A performance of the fine art of Chinese Yo-Yo performed by members of a Saturday recreation class, who deftly spun the over-sized yo-yos – resembling western butterfly yo-yos – by manipulating them on strings with sticks. They tossed them skyward, catching them nonchalantly in mid-air on their strings as the yo-yos continued to spin.
Peng Li reappeared as a magician snatching goldfish out of thin air, as the children in the audience cheered their appearance.
The climactic performance was the extremely graceful traditional ribbon dance, performed in flowing movements by Herricks High School women.
The members of the Chinese American Association who organized the evening were pleased with the performances and the turnout.
“We just want to bring the people to understand the Chinese culture,” said CAANH co-president Michele Sun.
Sun and co-president Jennifer Chiu said the event has grown steadily as a draw to people in the community and outside of it over the past decade.
On Saturday night, they estimated approximately 600 to 700 people filled the bleachers in the gym on Saturday night, audibly enthusiastic about the performers.
“We’re getting more people coming from everywhere on Long Island,” Chiu said.
The young singers, the dancers and the yo-yo performers start work on each year’s show in November, taking classes on weekdays after school or on Saturday. A committee of Herricks parents from the 250-member Chinese American Association starts their work organizing the Lunar New Year celebration in December, Sun said.
“It’s a lot of teamwork. The parents and the kids do it together,” Sun said.
There are approximately 80 students who are members of the Asian American Cultural Club, a Chinese cultural club and a Korean social club at Herricks High School, according to Herricks High Principal Jan Modoono, who has enjoyed regularly attending the event over the past decade.
“I love it. It’s joyful and happy, and a wonderful celebration of the Chinese culture,” Modoono said. “It provides an opportunity for our students to learn more about their heritage and it’s great that the event includes children of all ages.”
