The Year of the Dragon roared into Laguna Woods with a lively stage show highlighting Chinese cultural dances and traditions.
Organized by the Chinese American Club, the show at Clubhouse 5 included a dozen performances spotlighting solo songs and instrumental numbers as well as group dances, costume parades and comic sequences.
Professional performance artist Zhong Weiqi mystified the more than 600 audience members with a “face changing” act as he magically whipped from mask to mask with a swoosh of his sleeve. The act derives from traditional Sichuan opera.
“Big Sedan Chair” featured a short comic interlude. A reluctant bride was carried from her father’s house to meet her new groom as the ecstatic matchmaker danced alongside. Club members fashioned the elaborate red chair especially for the performance.
Another highlight was the appearance of the Three Star Gods representing longevity, prosperity and good fortune. Each represented a constellation important in Chinese astronomy and carried a large symbol of his area of influence.
The Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, is the most important festival in China. It is celebrated by billions of people across the world, including in South Korea, Vietnam and many countries in Southeast Asia with large Chinese populations or influence.
“It is traditionally a time to honor our ancestors, a time of feasting and visiting family members,” said Irene Cheng, past president of the Chinese American Club.
Each year is assigned an animal based on the Chinese zodiac of 12. The new year, which began this year on Feb. 10, is the Year of the Dragon, a majestic and lucky creature in Chinese lore that brings good luck, prosperity, justice and strength,
“The dragon holds a significant place as an auspicious and an extraordinary creature in China,” Cheng said. “It is highly respected by the Chinese because it is associated with the emperor. Therefore, it’s a symbol of power, nobility, honor and success.”
People born in the Year of the Dragon are said to be smart, ambitious, hard-working and successful.
Red is a popular color for Chinese New Year celebrations, which include offering sacrifices to ancestors, eating reunion dinners with family, giving red envelopes to children with money inside, setting off firecrackers and fireworks, watching lion and dragon dances, and visiting families and friends.
Traditional foods for the Chinese New Year include noodles, dumplings, rice cakes, sweet glutinous rice balls and whole steamed fish signifying abundance. Tangerines and oranges are traditional as well.
“It is the tradition to have a fish dish for the New Year’s Eve dinner because fish are a symbol of wealth,” Cheng said.
In keeping with these many traditions, those attending the performance at Clubhouse 5 received red envelopes containing $2, a generously filled lunch box and a whole red bean cake as they exited the show.