Person Of The Week: Anthu Le

Junior Anthu Le spends her weekends and holiday season embracing and celebrating an important part of her culture; Lunar New Year. She dances with a local group and performs a traditional lion dance.

“Lion dance is a traditional dance in Asian culture which mimics a lion’s movement under a lion costume,” Le said. “The costume requires two performers for the head and the tail. It is usually only performed during Lunar New Year or for weddings and grand openings as a sign for good luck and prosperity.”

When Lunar New Year begins to approach, Le spends hours every weekend perfecting the dance style so it is performance ready.

“We perform anywhere from supermarkets to elementary schools,” Le said. “The dance is for a non-profit organization for our temple.”

Because the lion costume has intricate work and tradition, most costumes are imported from Asian countries. The costume must also be long and tall enough for two people to dance under.

“Dancing with the lion costume is not that bad. It seems pretty heavy but it is actually really light,” Le said. “My head has to carry the lion head while dancing and then the tail has to bend over the whole time to make the ‘wagging’ motion.”

Le has been dancing the lion dance with her team for about five years.

“The teams are based on their origin location,” Le said. “Ours is from Vien Thong Tu temple so our team is Vien Thong Tu All Girls Lion Dance Team.”

Lunar New Year is a holiday celebrated in several different Asian countries and cultures.

“Most Asian countries such as China, Vietnam, Taiwan and Cambodia celebrate Lunar New Year,” Le said. “I am Vietnamese, in my culture the lion dance is a sign of luck and wealth for the new year.”