On Saturday, February 10, the Lunar New Year was celebrated by billions of people around the world. At MICDS Upper School, it was celebrated on Friday, February 23, during assembly. Per tradition, the Upper School convened to witness the annual Lion Dance, performed by six students: Henry Oliver ’25, Mac Froedge ’25, Cade Miller ’26, Jackson Hunter ’27, Michal Kenigsberg ’27, and Milton Duckworth ’27. Also, two students helped keep the rhythm for the lion dancers; Isaac George ’27 played the drum while Lucas Cheng ’27 played the cymbal. Watch the performance here!
Since 2015, the Upper School has enjoyed the Lion Dance tradition in honor of the Lunar New Year. This year, the student dancers began practicing in December and had six sessions on campus during the weekends. Their instructors were two Washington University students in the WashU Lion Dance Club who performed in the WashU Lunar New Year Festival. “We are so grateful for such a wonderful partnership with them this year,” said Lily Childs, Upper School Mandarin Teacher. Our MICDS lion dancers were taught a modified version of the WashU performance choreography. Miller said, “I enjoyed being a Lion Dancer this year because it allowed me to perform in a way I do not typically do while learning and connecting more with Chinese culture. As a Mandarin student, I appreciated that aspect. Furthermore, I also enjoyed meeting and working with our dance instructors from WashU; they’re super cool people.”
This year’s performance culminated with Dr. Sally Maxwell, Assistant Head of School for Teaching and Learning, presenting red envelopes to each of the lion dancers. The envelopes symbolize good fortune and luck in the year ahead.
In addition to the Lion Dance, the Year of the Dragon was also rung in by YoWU, the Yo-Yo Club at Washington University. Always a favorite guest group of the Upper School, students cheered for all of the tricks the yo-yo experts threw at them. One of the acts incorporated a yo-yo with a dragon kite attached, which was especially fitting for the occasion and impressive to the audience. Fantastic job to both the lion dancers and yo-yo artists!
Leading up to the assembly, ASA (the MICDS Asian Students Association) and the MICDS International Council hosted a scavenger hunt for red envelopes and put up decorations on campus. Also, students in our Mandarin classes made Lunar New Year posters, which were displayed in the cafeteria. Altogether, the lion dancers, yo-yo performers, decor, and activities signify the celebration of a fresh beginning and a time for reunification with family. Happy Lunar New Year to our entire MICDS Rams community!