For the past two years, students in the Mandarin Chinese program at Massapequa High School have been offered the opportunity to participate in the annual “Egg Roll and Dumpling Day” performance show.
Egg Roll and Dumpling Day, a cultural performance show composed of different skits from the Chinese programs of Massapequa School District and neighboring school districts, aims to showcase the successes of the growing Mandarin Chinese programs in school districts across the island.
“Egg Roll and Dumpling Day has showcased Chinese culture and language since it started in Jericho in 2016,” Mandarin Chinese teacher Mrs. Tracy Pi said.
Modeling the basis of a talent show in many regards, students from each school “compete” against one another in Egg Roll and Dumpling Day by planning out skits in the weeks prior and then performing them on stage. The skits often differ vastly from one another, including types of performing arts such as comedic conversations, singing, the Chinese yoyo, and even kicking around a hacky sack.
“We have had great time performing skits in Egg Roll and Dumpling Day for the past two years” Chinese club co-vice president Sam Carroll said. “We’ve done singing, dancing, comedic skits, and even a traditional fan dance.”
In 2017, Massapequa hosted the event for the first time with the help of the students in the Mandarin Chinese program as well as Chinese teacher Mrs. Pi. Not only was the event a success for the six total schools in attendance, but it foreshadows the growth and further success of the yearly event as a whole.
“Egg Roll and Dumpling Day was very successful when hosted at Massapequa this year,” Mrs. Pi said. “The kids really enjoyed hosting the event this year, and their participation is what helped make it such a strong show.”
Egg Roll and Dumpling Day shows no signs of stopping, as Massapequa students eagerly prepare for the next 2018 event at Herricks High School.
“All the students are really excited to perform next month at Herricks,” Chinese club co-vice president Hannah Coleman said. “It’s an event that we look forward to every year.”
As students await the inevitable return of the event back to Massapequa in the future, they have plenty of skits and martial arts moves to practice for the upcoming Herricks event to keep them occupied in the meantime.