TẾT CELEBRATION, 2005 vsawsu.org The building was packed! And the lion dance got the crowd up cheering on their feet! The 2005 VSA Tết Celebration got off to a good start at 5:30pm Sunday night (13 February). A slight delay was due to some last minute technical difficulty. Other than that, everything had been going quite smoothly. The opening ceremony started the national anthem and a welcoming speech from President Chris Nguyễn. After that, the lion-dance team was on the floor showing off a spectacular show. The crowd was well entertained with an exciting program, including some of the most jaw-dropping group dances, music and individual performances. There were even some special programs that have never been featured in any of the VSA Tết Celebrations previously. For instance, Cao-Sơn Nguyễn (our MC, master of ceremony) took to the audience with some brief questionaires about the meaning of Tết. To them, what impract did the celebration of Tết have on their own lives, on their families and friends in this time of year. The audience took the questionaires by surprise, but they were elated and responded in high spirits. Everyone seemed to like the format of the show when the audience were actively involved in the atmosphere, the program and the celebration. Talk about celebration! Several VSA cabinet members took to stage and gave some exceptional performances, both in groups and also in individuals. For instance, Bá-Luân Nguyễn awed the audience with the song Cho Bạn Cho Tôi (For My Friend, For Me). Nga, Phương, Huệ, and one other singer was sensational in the song Bốn Màu Áo (Four Dimensions of Color). But they certainly were not to be outdone was a group of young dancers performing via the song Thương Anh (Loving You). The audience were also well entertained through the outstanding hostings of the four MC's (master of ceremony): Cao-Sơn, Ngân, Trang, and Bình. The entire show was catered so that the audience would be cued in on the upcoming program, while the performers had time to prepare for their parts. Cao-Sơn took the lead role in communication, while Thu-Ngân, Trang and Bình had came up with some beatifying lines (Thu-Ngân: Tết năm nay anh Bình có người yêu chưa vậy?) that kept the audience loving and wanting more from the MC's. Throughout the afternoon, VSA staff and students have been working hard all day to make sure the Tết celebration would go on as planned. From the ones showed up early to setup the stage such as Thu Ngân, Mỹ Phương, Di Tăng, Duy and President Chris Nguyễn himself, to other late comers such as Cao-Sơn, Ðức, Thanh, Tâm, Luân have been busy running around making sure the VSA entertaining machine was well oiled and smoothly operated. The show ended at 7:30pm with President Chris Nguyễn thanking everyone for their utmost support. Traditional lì xì (money-stuffed red envelopes for well wishings) were handed out to little children, and that's when the kids really got wild. Everyone had a great time, and everyone was looking forward to many more exciting events to come in this Spring semester. Photo credit: Thùy Linh, Thu Ngân     vsawsu.org