The drumbeats thundered across Collins auditorium as the lion came onstage.
He stomped, kicked and sniffed the air before his partner joined him. The two lions danced and bowed to the drums’ rhythmic pounding, finishing to an enthusiastic round of applause. The year of the monkey had begun.
On Saturday night Lipscomb played host to the Greater Nashville Chinese Association’s new year celebration for the first time. The event featured a Chinese buffet in the Bison Café and a performance by local Chinese culture organizations in Collins Auditorium.
In her opening remarks at the performance, GNCA president Li Weaver discussed a time when she feared that her daughter would not identify as both Chinese and American. After Weaver’s oldest daughter said she did not feel Chinese, the family moved to Beijing for four years.
“We came back to the community a few years ago, and I realized the community has grown so much,” Weaver said. “We have so much to offer. We have two Chinese schools right here, and several Chinese culture clubs. And the community has grown so much.
“So, at that time I decided, you know, maybe I don’t need to move my family all the way to China for my younger daughter to learn about Chinese culture, and she could do it right here.”
The performance featured many local classical Chinese dance troupes of adults and children.
Joyce Cheung-Flynn has been coming to the New Year celebration for six years. Cheung-Flynn’s favorite part of the celebration is watching the children’s dances, as her daughter danced in the show this year.
“I like to see the little girls dance because they’re always so cute, especially the youngest group,” Cheung-Flynn said.
Throughout the evening, girls of varying ages would gather in the hallway outside the Arnold Rehearsal Hall dressed in brightly colored costumes. A group of five-year-olds waited on a pew, red ribbons twisted around their black pigtails.
Performer Michelle Kang is a member of the Nashville Chinese Culture Club dance troupe and a former president of GNCA. Her troupe performed a combination of two Mongolian dances.
Kang said one of her favorite parts about GNCA is how the organization teaches younger generations about Chinese tradition and culture.
“Nowadays, when the kids forget where they’ve come from, even though they were born here, it’s still good to carry on the heritage,” Kang said. “And we’re doing it through a fun way.”
Photos by author