Lion Dance Again and Again and Again

I have been at AISG since first grade, which was a decade ago, and every single year before Chinese New Year break starts, we go and watch a lion dance. I have watched the same performance of dancing lions, loud drums, crashing gongs, and a happy man chasing the lions around for 10 years in a row—after the second time, it became uninteresting to me. The performances are always great, and I always see the people around me enjoying the performance; however, for the people who have been at AISG for a long time, the performance often gets stale and uninteresting.

Andy H. has been at AISG since kindergarten, and he also agrees that the lion dance is getting repetitive. He says that “[he] can literally tell you what happens next. That’s how much [he’s] watched the lion dance.” Even Sean P, who has been at AISG for less than five years, claims that “[the lion dance] got repetitive after the third year.”

Having a lion dance performance every year is understandable. We are an international school in China, and we have new students and teachers coming every single year. Chinese New Year is an extremely important holiday in the Chinese culture and the lion dance is one of the symbols for Chinese New Year. This gives the students or the teachers who have recently come to China a chance to experience the Chinese culture and learn and enjoy the traditional activity that is very important in their new host country.

Ishita A. has been a life-long AISG student, and says that “the lion dance is a pretty good way of understanding Chinese culture.” Sophomore Marco L. agrees with her, saying “[the lion dance] helps the students who came from other countries to learn a little bit about Chinese culture,” and that even though he has been at AISG since fourth grade, “[he] likes watching the lion dance because [he] likes how loud it is and how much energy it has.”

Mr. Gomes, a teacher who only came to AISG this year, says that “[he] has heard good things about the lion dance, and [he] is very curious to see it.” According to Ms. Wang, the organizer of the Chinese New Year event, there is a lion dance every year because “[the lion dance] is a tradition for Chinese New Year to help get rid of the bad spirits and welcome in good fortune.” The Chinese department has acknowledged the students’ feedback on the lion dance and is continuing other traditional activities from last year. These include two student performances and many other activities, like the booths from last year. Additionally, Ms. Zhu, another organizer of the Chinese New Year event, says that there will also be “other performances that are a secret.”

The lion dance is an event that takes place at AISG every year, and although it may be repetitive for returning students and teachers, it is a great experience for those that are new to AISG. The organizers of the event have also acknowledged the complaints from some students, and are trying new activities while also preserving the traditional Chinese culture.

Go experience it for yourself on Friday!