At each seat at each of the round tables inside Levin Ballroom was a little red envelope filled with goodies like chocolate coins and candy, typical of Lunar New Year tradition. The Brandeis Chinese Cultural Connection (BC3) club, host of the 2017 Chinese Lantern Festival, also provided refreshments for each table and a complimentary dinner at the end of the event with delicious plates of rice, sauteed string beans, Kung Pao chicken and more Chinese dishes.

The packed ballroom consisted mostly of the international student population. The evening started with three videos played on a projector, the most enjoyable one being compiled snippets of Brandeis professors wishing everyone a happy year in Mandarin. The audience applauded vigorously for Prof. Coiner and the Economics department.

One video clip humorously showed the excitement in Chinese New Year festivities with dramatic clips from action movies; the last one seemed to be an informational video spoken entirely in Chinese. The festival, which ran from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., featured multiple types of acts — the event had four MCs, who all spoke mostly Chinese, introducing each act.

The festivities opened with the Brandeis Traditional Music club performing “Hua Hao Yue Yuan,” a mandolin-centered piece. The mini orchestra played the song against an ornate, handmade backdrop, which accompanied all of the acts for the rest of the night; the yellow tapestry featured red accents, including a drawing of the rooster — this year’s Lunar New Year animal — and also Chinese characters.

Most of the acts were singing or dancing-based, and almost all the music danced to was in Chinese, in addition to the songs performed. Some of the pieces included “On the Horseback,” “Shouldn’t Be” and the only English song, Adele’s “Make You Feel My Love.”

However, perhaps the most popular acts were the choreographed dances, judging by the crowd’s vocal reactions and applause. The first dancing group to perform was an all-girl troupe, all wearing very hip ensembles such as hoodies, denim jackets and baseball caps; they danced to Tinashe’s “2 On” under vibrant neon lights. The next choreographed set included Korean pop songs “Only You,” “Bad Girl Good Girl” and “Call me Baby,” featuring a bigger group with more dancers.

BC3 also put together a fashion show called “Traveling Through History”; models included members and friends of the e-board. The show featured traditional Chinese outfits through the decades, including ones from ancient dynasties all the way to modern-day school uniforms. The hair, makeup and dresses were all extremely beautiful and elaborate.

Also impressive was the Chinese kung fu performance by the Boston Kung Fu Alliance — three kung fu masters dressed in traditional Chinese kung fu apparel showed off their skills in an intricate routine filled with cartwheels, baton swinging and intense language. These tricks wowed the audience and definitely impressed many.

Toward the end of the culture show, two comedians participated in what was called “Comic Dialogue” by Funyun Club, a Boston-based comedic duo, in which the two went back and forth humorously — the audience laughed hysterically, the subject matter unknown to me as all of it was spoken in Chinese.

Although all dialogue was spoken in Chinese and made it slightly difficult for an audience member who could not speak Chinese to understand what was going on, BC3’s 2017 Lunar New Year was a success and showed all the time and hard work it takes to put together a large-scale culture show. From the food to the dancing, the event proved itself to be an enjoyable time, especially for Chinese students who could comprehend all that was spoken.