February 17, 2026 / 12:25 PM PST / CBS LA
Millions around the world are celebrating the start of the Lunar New Year on Tuesday with food, music and dance, hoping to bring in good fortune.
Bold sashes and costumes are an annual tradition for the dancers at the South Coast Chinese Cultural Center in Irvine. They dance in competitions and appear on stage year-round, but they said February's shows are the most meaningful.
"We actually call it spring festival Chūnjié, a dance that was usually done around Chinese New Year because it's a time to celebrate, to show how happy you are to pray for an even better new year," said Dr. Cheer Pan, the dance director.
They've been invited to the Irvine Retail Properties Company Lunar New Year events for the last eight years to showcase Chinese folk dance.
"They usually think of lion dances, dragon dances, but they might have never seen Chinese Dance," said Noelle Mullarkey, a dancer.
Pan said there are 56 recognized ethnic groups in China, each with a unique dance style. There's the Mongolian-influenced horsemen style, an Arabic-infused number and a northern comedic dance using a handkerchief, each one with a story.
Kylie Liao has taken years of ballet, hip-hop, and even K-pop lessons, but two years ago, the 17-year-old started taking Chinese folk dance.
"I felt like this was a great way to reconnect and tap back into that culture," Liao said.
During this Lunar New Year, her group will be at the Marketplace on Feb. 21, Fashion Island on Feb. 28 and their finale will be at the Irvine Spectrum Center on March 1.
The students said it's a great way to share their own culture with a broader audience.
It's a humbling experience to know that the people at these events aren't a paying audience; they're casual shoppers or diners who may not have come specifically to see them, but when they do, they hope to leave a bold and joyful impression, much like the Year of the Horse.
"Even if they're not Chinese or like Asian, I feel like I want them to walk away feeling, 'That's a part of the community I never seen before and I want to learn more about that,'" Liao said.