Students commemorated the Lunar New Year this weekend for the 15th consecutive year with the Lunar New Year Festival (LNYF) performance on Friday and Saturday in Edison Theatre.

The two weekend shows brought the weeklong Lunar New Year celebration to a close, which began with a fireworks display on Jan. 30.

As of 2 p.m. on Saturday, the box office reported selling 546 tickets for Friday night’s show and 534 for Saturday’s—around 200 more tickets than were sold last year.

The 14 performances contained within each show included a lion dance, fusion, hula, “tinikling,” hip-hop, ribbon and fan dances, yo-yo, juggling, and Korean drumming.

“It is the first time for me to see the show,” junior Matt Snider said. “I really love how the artsy and unique performances brought about different kinds of Asian culture and managed to accept American culture at the same time.”

Audience members also appreciated many specific parts of the performance.

“I like how some performances did a beautiful job of imitations, like the Chinese fan and Samul-nori (the Korean drumming performance). And the costume for the Tibetan dance is amazing,” said junior Laura Edison, who has been to every LNYF show since her freshman year.

Sophomore Lauren Pinaroc also enjoyed the show. “It’s imaginative, original and fabulous!” she said.

The audience’s cheering and support also encouraged the performers.

Senior Ashley Sham was in the fusion and senior dances this year.

“The interaction with the audience really means a lot to us because it helps us tell a better story,” Sham said.

Seniors Annie Cai and Anthony Pham, co-coordinators for LNYF 2011, were extremely pleased with the show.

“We would like to thank the warm and enthusiastic audience. We also brought back fireworks to kick off our Lunar New Year Festival week in conjunction with Asian Multicultural Council. Ultimately, we hope that we were able to enhance the Lunar New Year experience for our audience members,” Cai said.

The impressive performances also encouraged some audience members to consider joining LNYF next year.

“I was so moved when I saw how the performers were engaged and enjoyed their show,” freshman Lily Tianyi Cai said. “I wish I can be one of them next year.”