UC Irvine welcomes the Year of the Dragon with performances, cultural activities
Beneath a seemingly endless downpour that meteorologists say will continue battering Southern California throughout the week, the clash of a jing and thrumming heartbeat of a buk could be heard ringing out across the UC Irvine campus Monday afternoon to shepherd in a new year.
Dozens came out, braving the wet weather, to see the pink and red canopy laid out in front of the Irvine Barclay Theater, where the event was held for the second year.
“The rain is actually maybe kind of appropriate for this Year of the Wood Dragon because [the rain] symbolizes vitality and abundance — the kind of vitality and abundance that will sprout forth after all this rain goes away and we get some sun again,” said Bill Maurer, the dean of the school of social sciences at UC Irvine, in his introductory remarks for the celebration.
Monday’s fete of the Year of the Dragon marked the ninth year that the university has held a Lunar New Year celebration on campus, according to senior executive director of development for the School of Social Sciences Tracy Arcuri.
The idea to celebrate the holiday was first prompted by university donor John Long, who asked what the university was doing for students who would be unable to leave in the middle of the school term to mark one of the most important holidays in larger Asian culture. In response, the first official event was held in 2016 after about five weeks of organization, drawing about 1,000 people from the campus and larger community.
Last year was the first year the event moved into the Irvine Barclay Theater. Arcuri said organizers wanted to elevate the experience and give students an opportunity to take the stage.
“We keep adding [to the event]. It’s our performers and our students that are performing on stage. We have our VIP lounge. It’s a very multicultural Lunar New Year celebration. Earlier on, it was more of a Chinese New Year celebration, even though [Long] wanted it to be more multicultural,” Arcuri said. “But, really, now we are representing everybody who celebrates Lunar New Year. You’ll see models wearing Korean attire, wearing Vietnamese attire, wearing Chinese attire — it’s really a cross-collaboration.”
Events were scheduled all throughout the day in addition to the performances at the Barclay, including at the university’s student center where people were able to participate in cultural activities like learning origami and karata — Japanese playing cards — games and a talk with author James Zimmerman.
Both former and current students called participating in the continually growing Lunar New Year event is an honor.
Bao-linh Nguyen, who graduated from UC Irvine in 2018, said she and her lion-dancing team — Gio Nam Lion Dance — worked to incorporate the dragon more in this year’s dance.
“Over the last couple of years, they’ve asked us more and more [to perform] because we have experience with lion and dragon. So, this year, we’re doing more with the dragon and the lion in this event. In past years, we’ve done it when [the celebration] used to be hosted outdoors by the social sciences plaza,” Nguyen said. “So, now we’re really excited that it’s been shifted [to the Irvine Barclay Theater]. It gives us a bit more freedom to do more of a stage performance than a crowd-control performance.”
Nguyen said she remembered when she was attending the university that the holiday was largely celebrated by cultural clubs in isolation. The event has grown bigger and bigger with each successive year and showcases what the campus has to offer.
Diane Kim, who graduated in 1993, said she’s been volunteering for the Lunar New Year festivities the last seven years and helps organize the traditional clothing models, mostly comprised of current students, who stood in the lobby.
“I think in the past, you know, the Lunar New Year was mainly known as Chinese New Year, but most East Asian cultures celebrate Lunar New Year. With that understanding, UCI moved into that space, and it’s become the UCI Lunar New Year celebration. We have Korean culture, Vietnamese culture and Chinese culture, and we hope to continue to grow that with all other groups that celebrate Lunar New Year,” Kim said.
“[The event] reflects on our diversity here locally but certainly at UCI,” Kim continued. “The number of different ethnic groups ... that celebrate Lunar New Year — I think it’s a fantastic opportunity to just share our culture in a different way. Food, definitely, but also something also as fun as fashion.”
Jeong-min Hwang, a fourth year student at UC Irvine studying journalism and a co-president of UCI Hansori, said she felt representing her culture on stage was significant. Hwang said she grew up in central Los Angeles, where she remembers being one of a few Korean Americans growing up.
“Being able to actively participate and partake actively in your culture and being able to draw on an institution where you could bring a lot of artists, I think, really means a lot to me and a lot of our members too,” Hwang said.
Hwang and her co-president, second-year chemistry student Jonghyun “Jay” Won, said they got into traditional Korean performance art for different reasons, but that they both knew the importance of preserving tradition.
“The most important part is showing Korean drumming to the audience, even if they don’t know anything about it. I think it’s really important to actually hear them and see them and see how we dance, how we play the drums and how all those sounds come together,” Won said.
He and Hwang noted their club nearly flickered out along with other traditional Korean drumming clubs at other campuses in 2020 because of the pandemic.
“I felt the pressure. I think Jay felt the pressure of preserving drumming, even at the collegiate levels,” Hwang said. “And so, it’s amazing that we keep getting requests and, despite wanting to do everything, we’re just one club. Not everyone in our club is Korean. We’re very diverse. That’s another thing about our club is that music brings us all together. It’s not, ‘Well, you have to be Korean.’ Anyone can share music, love music and bring awareness, and that’s important too.”
In his remarks, UC Irvine Chancellor Howard Gillman said the event was more than just a celebration of Lunar New Year.
“It is a reflection of unity from the dynamic rhythms of UCI Hansori to the enchanting Gio Nam Lion Dance,” Gillman said. “Our celebration [is bringing] together age-old customs and contemporary expressions, bridging generations and cultures.”
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