Each movement and flutter of the vibrant, pink fans mesmerized the audience on February 2, as members of the Boston Korean Dance Academy performed several routines during the New Art Center’s celebration of the Lunar New Year.
After a few quick costume changes, the all-female group also spun and glided across the floor while playing the drums. In addition to the dance performances, audience members had a chance to listen to traditional music played by the GBCCA Chinese Music Ensemble and the Global String Band Jul while getting creative doing holiday crafts.
The Lunar New Year marks “the arrival of spring and the beginning of a new year on the lunisolar calendar. It is the most important holiday in China, and it is also widely celebrated in South Korea, Vietnam, and countries with a significant overseas Chinese population,” according to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art.
The 15-day spring festival started on January 29, and 2025 “is the year of the Blue Snake in the Korean calendar, or the Wood Snake in the Chinese calendar,” according to the New Art Center. “The Year of the Wood Snake is meant to bring growth, resilience, harmony, wisdom, intuition, and creativity, making it a year well-suited for personal and professional development.”
New Art Center guest artists Jane Kim-Testa and Ren Li Song welcomed young visitors to try their hands at painting elegant Chinese calligraphy as well as creating mini kites, lucky pouches, and origami snakes.
Kim-Testa, who now lives in Brookline but is originally from Seoul, said the crafts she included were based on traditional activities she did as a child and are “a reminder of home.”
Thrilled to see a packed house, including people from varied backgrounds eager to learn more about the holiday, Kim-Testa said, “It’s so important for young kids to learn about all the cultures around them.”
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