Most who have experienced the tradition of lion dancing might be content staying a spectator for fear of feeling embarrassed to wear a huge costume while dancing. But for junior Ryan Cruz, he remains fearless...
![Checking in, junior Ash Hsi looks over at their partner’s progress. Some groups took a more humorous approach to the project. “We put [our partner’s height] range between five feet and 15 feet,” Hsi said. “We wanted them to be really tall, but we couldn’t find a specific height we were all comfortable with, so they’re just a stepladder.”](https://southwestshadow.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG_9919-1200x673.jpg)
![On the day of his performance, junior Ryan Cruz prepares himself and tries to calm his nerves for the event. For Cruz, lion dancing is an expressive outlet that brings emotion to any spectators that check out his performances. “It’s really fun for me, honestly,” Cruz said. “I like jumping around, or running around. I really like [pretending to] bite people as the lion. It means a lot to me that I’m able to make people smile, whether it is making them think that I brought them good fortune, or doing those random things to kids to cheer them up because they’re really scared.”](https://southwestshadow.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/image0-14.jpeg)
![Posing with a Chiikawa stand, a popular Japanese cartoon character, junior Chloe Rivera enjoys her time in Japan. She snapped a picture with the Chiikawa and Tokyo Banana collaboration poster to commemorate the moment. “I think they [Chiikawa] were really cute and during the time I was thinking about how Tokyo Banana and Chiikawa collab and that I should take a picture before their collab ended,” Rivera said. “Sometimes I wish I got the collab package, but I’m also glad I didn’t even though the packaging is different.”
“Photo Credit: Chloe Rivera”](https://southwestshadow.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/72DA18B8-84EC-4C3A-846B-D0A9BD5CE774-1-1.jpg)
