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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

student life

Students celebrate Chinese New Year

A group of women dressed in traditional red and black Asian-style dresses greet each guest.

Chinese symbols are printed on the red envelopes given to each patron walking through the doors of the IU Auditorium. The envelopes are filled with coupons and information about the evening’s events.

Past the group of women sit aisles of steaming Asian cuisine, waiting to be eaten by the variety of guests.

IU’s Chinese New Year celebration brought about 1,000 students, faculty and families to IU Auditorium for authentic Asian food, hip-hop, traditional ?dancing and comedic acts.

The event was hosted by the Indiana University Chinese Students and Scholars Association. Along with authentic Asian cuisine, the festival’s guests enjoyed more than 10 performing acts, from the hip-hop dance group X-Power to a comedy show titled “IU ?Midnight Talk.”

The celebration kicked off with authentic Asian food, including chilled Asian noodles, cooked spicy greens and an assortment of different types of beef, pork and chicken.

Once the celebration moved to the auditorium stage, a movie casting all of the event’s performers began to play. Each Chinese organization from across? campus was recorded wishing their peers a happy lunar new year.

Students from all over the world came to the celebration. However, the entire event was spoken in Chinese. English translations were provided for some acts, but not all.

IU student Andrew Nunez attended the celebration with two of his friends, one said he came only for the food.

“I’m here because I ?received this invitation from my friend,” Nunez said. “I’m having so much fun here with this wonderful dinner. I’m really looking forward to the performances, everything is going to be so great.”

The first dancing act was “Robot Body.” The act included eight dancers, each of which was adorned in silver clothes, silver face paint and silver glitter, which fell out of their hair with each step they took. The group danced a style of hip-hop similar to krumping. Each movement was calculated and robotic.

The next act to perform was a live radio show called “IU Midnight Talk.” The mock radio show included two hosts and a three-guest series. Each guest ?consulted the show’s hosts with problems of girls, studying, college life and more girls.

A popular act, judging by the cheering crowd, was a band called “The Band,” who sang popular American song “Lucky” by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat. Two of the three lead singers left the stage with fingers locked, only to come out for the next performance.

The dancers performed a number titled “Fleet of Time” that included a couples routine that morphed into a group routine. Behind the dancers were photos of each couple and the different events or activities they have enjoyed while ?at IU.

The colorful performances continued with a classic fan dance as well as the instrumental stylings of students from the Jacobs School of Music.

The IU Chinese Students and Scholars Association said they have the celebration at IU because the Chinese New Year is a family reunion.

Because family is far away, the organization puts on the event to mimic the celebration at home, according to the association’s ?Facebook page.

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