In celebration of Lunar New Year, residents of Sunrise Senior Living gathered on Wednesday evening to enjoy festivities and a cultural showcase.
The traditional entertainment, food and drinks, and cultural significance created an immersive experience for the audience, according to resident John Galese.
“Anything that can take you outside of yourself to see something different, to go somewhere different, that’s a good thing for everybody here,” Galese said.
From crab rangoons to peanut buns, the event incorporated a buffet of Chinese dishes for senior residents to munch on.
In addition to the treats provided, there was a performance of the traditional Lion Dance by Calvin Chin’s Martial Arts Academy Inc. of Newton Highlands. Some members of the Academy provided the instrumentals through the use of a gong, cymbals, and drum, while two dancers performed a routine dressed in an elaborately decorated lion costume.
Sabrina Gee, BC ’23, has been a member of the academy for 16 years and played the drum in the showcase. She said that this performance was all about family because her uncle is the owner of the studio.
She said she typically senses a positive response from the audience every time she performs.
“People usually respond with positive attitudes,” Gee said. “A lot of people smile and reach out and touch the lion, which is usually good luck for the people who are watching.”
Another performer, David Liang, who performed as one of the lions, said,
“The performance dance means reunion—togetherness —because it really brings people together.”
The elderly residents of the Sunrise home watched the performance attentively, especially as the lion passed through the crowd.
During the performance, the music created a steady beat that rang throughout the room.
The dancers, through intricate movements and the large mask that has expressive eyes and a movable mouth, mimicked the motion of a lion while staying on-beat with the music. In front of the dancers was a pile composed of a heart of lettuce, an orange, and a red envelope—all representative of good luck.
Toward the end of the dance, the lion picked up the lettuce, shredded it into pieces, and spit it out to enact the ritual of passing out good fortune to the audience.
Liang said, “The dance is meant to bring good luck and scare away the bad spirits, chasing out the bad to bring in the new for the new year.”
Stephanie Humphreys, the executive director for Sunrise, was in charge of the organization of the event, providing food and decorations. She said she wanted to ensure a proper and appropriate representation of the culture.
“We try to be very respectful of a lot of our residents and the different cultures that we have in the community,” she said. “We always want to be inclusive to everyone.”
Humphreys said she turned to one resident, Anna Chan, for advice on how to successfully and appropriately execute the event.
“We wanted to make sure that we were doing something more to pay homage to the Lunar New Year,” Humphreys said. “It’s so important to Anna and the Chinese population overall.”
Chan, who has been a resident of Sunrise for 3 years, donated a 100-year-old dragon mask for the event. Chan said she wanted to showcase an important item that reflects her ancestry.
“We had the dragon mask in storage,” Chan said. “Bob, my son, used to do the dragon, dancing, everything.”
Nicole Garcia, the activities and volunteer coordinator at Sunrise, said she hoped that the event would help both the attendees and herself learn more about Chinese culture.
“I’ve never seen a lion dance before, so this is an exciting opportunity to see it for the first time!” Garcia said.
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