When asked about Chinese New Year, Lisa Qi '11, co-president of the Brandeis Chinese Cultural Connection (BC3), told justArts, "It's very similar to American Thanksgiving. It only happens once in a year where everyone in your family gets together to celebrate one of the most joyous holidays in Chinese culture." Although the new lunar year officially begins on Feb. 3, BC3 helped the community start the celebration a bit early by holding an event last Saturday night in Levin Ballroom.This year is the year of the metal rabbit, and according to the Chinese Zodiac Calendar, it will contrast greatly in tone with 2010, the year of the tiger. Because the tiger and rabbit are considered opposite in their attributes and symbolism, the year of the rabbit will bring peace and tranquility, a relief from the many struggles the tiger was supposed to have brought last year. Metal, according to Chinese horoscopes, is said to give the rabbit resilience and strength in its harmony. This year will be an auspicious year for most people, with 11 months favorable out of 12; it is predicted that the year of the rabbit will be full of harmony and leisure.

The evening began with a hypnotic drum performance by a group of students from The Chinese Folk Art Workshop, a nonprofit organization based in Boston that teaches children ages 12 to 18 various traditional Chinese performance arts. The boys who drummed were about 12 and 13, but they held themselves like professional adult musicians, using their bodies, drumsticks and voices to create a wonderfully visual and synchronized piece. The drummers beat upon huge red drums, which are traditionally used in Taiwan as an important part of all of their festivals. It was a great opening to a captivating show.

Dancers from Calvin Chin's Martial Arts Academy later performed the customary lion dance, in which two people wore a costumed lion head and body and danced to the sounds of a drum, cymbals and gong. The lion dance is considered essential at Lunar New Year celebrations to ensure prosperity in the coming year. The evening's lion danced beautifully to the music, with the dancers inside acting as puppeteers and moving its ears, eyes and tail. The lion even came into the audience, allowing for a closer inspection of the detail and beauty of the fierce-looking costume.

At intermission, Miriam Halimi '13 talked about the club she started last year called China Care, which is a chapter of a larger nationwide organization that originally started at Harvard University. The organization's goal is to raise money to pay for reconstructive surgeries for children in China who are abandoned at birth because of physical deformities. After participating in last year's Lunar New Year celebration, Halimi was inspired to help out the people in whose culture she had become so interested.

A noteworthy moment of the night was during the second act when David Deng '12, Ziman "Kay" Zhou '13 and Jamie Fleishman '11 performed a song originally by Jay Chou, one of China's most beloved pop stars. Deng and Zhou both sang beautifully while accompanying themselves on guitar and keyboard, respectively, while Fleishman played saxophone. The blend of the voices and instruments was smooth and easy to listen to, pleasing Jay Chou fans while creating some new ones among audience members.

Qi was full of gratitude at the end of the night, emphasizing how "everybody worked so hard to put this together." This year's Lunar New Year celebration was bigger than ever, with about 450 students, family members and outside performers in attendance.

"We've received help from members of Brandeis Asian American Student Association and Southeast Asian Club, in addition to partnering with several outside performing organizations and the East Asian Studies program," BC3 co-president Max Xu '13 told justArts. "This was all done in order to expand Lunar New Year beyond previous years, and we can't thank everyone who helped out enough for supporting our venture.