For four years, Bellaire’s Chinese New Year celebration existed only in her pre-pandemic memories.
Now, the previously annual CNY celebration returns under Bellaire’s sole Chinese teacher Chu Tsai – with a new auditorium, a large audience and a plethora of East Asian cultural performances.
“COVID put a temporary stop to the show,” Tsai said. “Besides that, there used to be another Chinese teacher coordinating the show. It’s hard to do alone. But this year, I have a lot of Chinese students who are dancers and put in the time and effort.”
Chinese Honor Society and Bellaire Chinese Club hosted the 2025 Chinese New Year celebration on Friday, Jan. 31, during seventh period and after school from 6-7 p.m.. The program showcased nine cultural performances featuring traditional Chinese folk dances and gongfu. Bellaire’s dance company eMotion, K-pop Club and Diabolo Club also performed.
“I think we made the world smaller,” Tsai said. “I got all the foreign language department teachers to support and bring kids to see the show.”
The CNY program saw a full house of over 870 audience members and brought more attention to the Bellaire Chinese program.
“Compared to other language culture events, we had big, big numbers,” Tsai said. “Some students brought their whole family to see the show. Not only Chinese parents but also non-native speakers. I want to let them see that our program is not only teaching kids the language but also cultural appreciation.”
Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, marks the beginning of the traditional lunisolar calendar, usually between late January and early February. It is celebrated across China, Korea, Vietnam and other Asian cultures.
“Lunar New Year is one of the major events in China,” Tsai said. “We wanted to spread the culture and traditions of the holiday.”
People wear traditional Chinese clothing like qipao, eat dumplings and fried fish for good health and prosperity and gift hongbao, or red envelopes, containing money. Festivities continue for days, unofficially ending on the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of celebration.
The show began with a video featuring Tsai and CHS event coordinator senior Vivan Zhang. They aimed to educate the audience on the significance of the Chinese zodiac to New Year celebrations. 2025 is the Year of the Snake. The video included over 20 teachers from all subject departments saying “新年快乐,” or “Happy Chinese New Year,” in Chinese.
“We’re reintroducing Asian culture back to Bellaire,” Zhang said. “I don’t really see many Asian events going on, so I felt really nice to bring it back to represent the culture a little bit more. It shows diversity, inclusiveness and spreads awareness to other people who don’t know as much about Asian cultures.”
Zhang referenced the past program four years ago to coordinate the behind-the-scenes. She selected dances in early November and organized after-school practices after winter break. Zhang performed and choreographed two group dances: a traditional sleeve dance and daizhu dance. She also performed a solo choreographed by her dance school, the Golden Peacock School of Dance.
“Being in those dances showed teamwork, honestly, because you would have to work together to learn moves, making sure everyone is together for the same type of move,” Zhang said. “And then also spending time with these dancers after school. We got to know each other and our styles better, especially when choreographing.”
Martial arts performance participant sophomore Elaine Wang attended weekly after school practices to perfect her fighting staff wushu.
“I had to practice over and over to get every strike and stance right, but that’s what wushu is all about – persistence and perfection,” Wang said. “I recently attended an international competition in Brunei, and I am just thrilled I can share such a deeply integrated part of Chinese culture with the audience. It was an adrenaline rush.”
Throughout the planning process, Tsai and Zhang faced several challenges. They cut the program from 12 to eight dances, secured funding for costumes and coordinated stage lighting.
“Commitment is key,” Tsai said.”And the performers and coordinators were committed, so even though there was some frustration, we all learned from our mistakes. CHS officers practiced their leadership and distributing duties. I’m not the only one making everything happen.”
Everyone’s work ultimately paid off.
“The performance was great,” Zhang said. “During the martial arts performance, two kids were crying in the audience, but it was tears of joy. Everyone really enjoyed it.”
Tsai attributes the show’s success to her dedicated CHS officers. She said she hopes to put on an equally great show in 2026.
“I had a very capable and talented team this year,” Tsai said. “I really want to create this same opportunity for more students to get on the stage and celebrate the Chinese community.”
