Butterfly swords flash against fluorescent stage lights to the sounds of thumping drums. Steel nunchucks whip in concentric circles through the air. Moments later, these gongfu performers hold their stances, arms facing a watching crowd.
Nearly 800 students, faculty and parents gathered in the auditorium on Jan. 30, from 6-7 p.m., for the annual Lunar New Year celebration, co-hosted by the Chinese Honor Society (CHS) and Bellaire Chinese Club (BCC). The show featured ten acts: a mix of modern and traditional performances from K-pop Club, Diabolo Club, eMotion Dance Company and student performers.
“These performances are kind of a chance for us to expand our own respective cultures,” junior and BCC President Katherine Huang said. “It’s a great time to meet new people and let people kind of see what really makes us, us.”
Chinese New Year is marked by the first new moon of the lunisolar calendar, which falls on Feb. 17 this year, and ends with the Lantern Festival on March 3. The holiday represents the transition from the Chinese zodiac of the Wood Snake to the Fire Horse.
“The zodiac sets the tone for the whole celebration,” Huang said. “Since it’s the Year of the Horse, we wanted our performances to feel bold and spirited, because that’s what the animal symbolizes: energy and passion.”
Billions celebrate this holiday in countries across East Asia, including China, Vietnam, South Korea and North Korea. Still, sophomore and BCC Web Coordinator Dennis Argueta said the program’s goal extended beyond simply honoring tradition to inviting more populations to take part.
“We want to show the community of Bellaire that you don’t have to be a part of the culture itself to celebrate the new year,” Argueta said. “I’m not Chinese, but I love Chinese culture, and I love being a part of these celebrations.”
Throughout the 15 days of lavish celebration, observers dress in traditional clothing, or qipao, and hang auspicious banners that depict poetic couplets. It is a time of family reunion and cultural pride.
For Huang, events commemorating the Lunar New Year matter publicly, especially as online media often reduces Asian cultural traditions to simplistic stereotypes.
“In the day of the internet, a lot of things spread around,” Huang said. “But most people stop at the cliché and don’t really delve deeper when there is so much to learn about every single culture. That’s why today is so important to bring awareness.”
The night began with recorded remarks on Lunar New Year’s cultural context from BCC and CHS Club sponsor Chu Tsai. After a montage of over 70 teachers wishing the audience a ‘Happy New Year’ in Chinese, Tsai offered remarks on the 12 animals in the Chinese Zodiac and the legend of the beast ‘年,’ directly translated into the word ‘year,’ to explain the origins of wearing red and setting off fireworks.
After the introduction, Freshman Isabel Zhao took center stage with other students in the Peacock Dance. Also known as daizhu, or dai dance, it mimics a peacock with soft arm movements that represent water or bird feathers, according to Zhao. She also performed in her solo “Butterfly” and in the group Water Sleeve Dance.
“I feel really grateful, and I was really excited to be part of this event, because you can emphasize diversity to other people,” Zhao said.
While audience members cheered and whistled throughout the night, Huang observed kung fu as an “all-around favorite.”
“Kung fu delivers a special power in their performance, the kind that makes me very proud to be Chinese,” Huang said. “I’m very glad that these people around me are able to represent my culture and what we are most proud of.”
Performers held practices starting in November, meeting weekly after school and during Cardinal Hour to coordinate dances. Junior Skylar Lew led and choreographed the fan dance. Lew’s mother, Van Truong, was excited and proud to see Lew commemorate the New Year publicly.
“She was beautiful,” Truong said. “She works very hard for all her performances. For Lunar New Year, usually we just go to a Buddhist temple and then spend time with family gambling, so I was happy to see her on the stage as well.”
Even from her view backstage, the product of months of planning was an “amazing thing to see” for Huang.
“I’m also very happy with the way things turned out,” Huang said. “We had to go through some technical difficulties, but everything worked out in the end.”
2026 is the second consecutive year of the BCC and CHS Chinese New Year Performance after a four-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. They aim to make it an annual tradition.
“We had an amazing show, and we hope to continue doing an amazing job,” Argueta said. “We hope that whoever has come this year will come and see us next year.“
Follow Bellaire Chinese Club on Instagram @bellairechineseclub for updates on future meetings and events.
Dennis • Mar 5, 2026 at 11:17 am
❤ Thank you so much Elly and Keith. Amazing story!