On April 24, 2018, Lunar New Year Productions (Lunar) and Urban Dance Club (UDC) partnered up to hold their annual performance, showcasing the various talents of the students in these clubs. The plethora of acts ranged from singing and dancing to modern East Asian music, lion dance, Chinese Yoyo, umbrella dance, and ribbon dance. With hours of rehearsals starting all the way back in September 2017, the students worked long and hard to put on the best show they could.

“I watched them dance their hearts out. Knowing that the people on the stage were going to be the ones running the club for the following years was very assuring,” said Jude Carluen ’18, Vice President of UDC.

The purpose of Lunar New Year Productions and UDC is for students to come together to help each other improve their dancing abilities. According to Jude Carluen ’18, Vice President of UDC, everyone in the club “worked the entire year.” As he watched UDC’s performances, Carluen was feeling nostalgic. “I watched them dance their hearts out. Knowing that the people on the stage were going to be the ones running the club for the following years was very assuring,” Carluen said.

The show started off with the national anthem, sung by Song Hwa (Hannah) Seo ’19, followed by a Lion Dance performance by students who are part of the Asian United Cultural Exchange Council.

The Chinese Yoyo group demonstrated their skills and hand-eye coordination. They spun their Yoyos on strings and sticks, threw them in the air, and did many cool tricks. Justin Cheng ’19 lit up the stage with his LED yoyo. Everyone watched in awe as the illuminating circle moved around the stage. Cheng had taken the time to practice his yoyo skills to be ready for the show this year. “Performing in the Lunar show has given me more confidence and appreciation for performance on stage,” Cheng said.

Four groups from UDC showed off their incredible moves and wowed the crowd with break dancing and doing the ‘shoot dance,’ moving their right arm and leg in unison. Many UDC members felt that the bond they shared with their fellow club members made their performances easier and boosted their confidence.“Being able to dance confidently in front of my group helped me to believe that I could be just as confident on stage,” Isadora Polish ’21 said.

Following the many dances, Timothy Kim ’18 wowed the crowd with his heartfelt singing. The auditorium lit up as the audience waved their phone flashlights to the melody of “No Matter Where” by The Max. “I chose that specific song because it’s a song that I can sing from my heart. It helped me through hard breakups and to have closure in my life. I can personally relate to it, and I wanted the song to be something that the audience can feel along with me through my performance. Seeing how moved the audience was by my performance was powerful; it gave me hope that my career choice in music wasn’t a fantasy,” Kim said.

Many students were impressed by the show. “My expectations were absolutely met, even surpassed. The show was amazing. There were so many gifted people in the show, so it was no surprise that so many people were in the audience. I think it was very well put together, and one could see all of the hard work put into it,” said Alannis Jaquez ’21.

Teachers who attended the performance also enjoyed themselves. “I thought the show was excellent! I was so proud to see my students performing. I was just overall impressed with the talent and clear dedication put into the performances. The umbrella dance and the lion dance were seriously thrilling!” said Physics teacher Ms. Rachel Wax.

Being a part of Lunar and UDC really brought out new sides of people that they never thought existed. Tomson Zhang ’19, a member of both clubs, said, “Lunar has had a significant impact on my life. I used to be a shy kid who was scared of going on stage, but I pushed myself to overcome that fear, and Lunar made that possible.” Zhang took this opportunity for the feeling that came with it. “I felt empty when I wasn’t stressing about dance. There’s just something about the chaos that leaves you wanting more,” he said.

As if the show wasn’t amazing enough, it was topped off with a promposal made by Lunar’s very own president, Jung Hoon Choo ’18. Choo asked Karen Wong ’18 to prom and continued the annual tradition of promposals during the show. The show left the audience in good spirits, and excited for what next year’s has in store.