Social Awareness Celebrated at CSC's Lunar Gala

For the past 28 years, the Chinese Students Club has commemorated Chinese New Year with its Lunar Gala, an event complete with a series of cultural performances, a fashion show, and a VIP dinner. This year, however, the organizers intend the 29th annual show to be more than just a celebration—they have plans for their event to spread a message of political and social awareness.

The theme for this Sunday’s show is “Made in China,” but instead of bringing to mind the stereotype of poor-quality goods, the CSC is determined to flip the term on its head by using it to describe a celebration infused with creativity and innovation.
Co-director Kenny Liu, CC ’10, commented on his aspirations for the event.

“Traditionally Lunar Gala is a show only about Chinese cultural elements,” he said.
“This year we are trying to do something with social consciousness as well. We want something to make people think and probe deeper ... which is in part why we picked the theme.”

Liu explained that the Year of the Rat, the beginning of the zodiac cycle, is an appropriate time for the gala to symbolize rejuvenation and new beginnings. The show’s line-up contains several changes from previous years.

This year’s culture show will feature a joint performance by diverse, and perhaps unexpected, campus groups. The lion dance act will perform simultaneously with break dancers from Raw Elementz, and performers will integrate the Radiance dance with hip-hop.

The fashion show will feature designs by Diane von Furstenberg, Rebecca Taylor, Libertine, Yoko Devereux, and Diesel. Co-director Shirley Chen, CC ’10, said that the CSC contacted over 100 designers and brands but “with the conflict between our show and Oscar week, it was difficult getting designers to agree to send us their clothing.”

The entire show will use one set with moveable parts inspired by Beijing’s Temple of Heaven.

Over 150 students are directly involved in Lunar Gala, either as organizers or performers, making it one of the largest undergraduate productions on campus. The directors have been working on organizing the show since the beginning of last fall semester.

“Blood, sweat, and tears went into this,” Liu said. “Some people wanted to quit or didn’t want to pull an all-nighter on a Friday night for it, but ultimately it’s an event about people and it’s all the people in this that are making it happen”.

Lunar Gala will be held on Sunday at 7 p.m. in Roone Arledge Auditorium, and all proceeds will go to Grace Children’s Foundation, a charity that provides aid to orphans and disadvantaged children in China.

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