In a prologue to a recent show by the Oriental Star Dance School held at Mt. Lebanon High School, some 100 Girl Scouts got insight into ancient Chinese secrets, such as paper cutting and making those intricate paper lanterns.

During intermission of the show, in which Chinese dance art was performed by girls of Asian descent in traditional costumes, the scouts were given dance lessons.

	Post-Gazette Sarah Luo, 8, watches her fellow dancers turn a coat rack bar at Green Tree Public Library into a gym before performing a Mongolian folk dance and an icy cherry candy dance Saturday for kindergartners and preschoolers. They are students at the Oriental Star Dance School. Click photo for larger image.

Then, at the program's end, dancers and scouts tossed streamers of thick yarn into the air as a traditional symbol of good luck and a way of saying "Happy New Year."

The show and the scouts celebrated what the rest of us will on Sunday when the Chinese New Year 4705, the Year of the Pig, starts. Legend has it that Buddha named a year after each of the 12 animals in the Chinese calendar -- rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig -- and that people born in each animal's year have some of that animal's traits.

Those born in Pig years are said to have excellent manners; make and keep friends; work very hard; appreciate luxury; are loving and loyal partners.

"It was the first time the girls saw anything like this and it was so beautiful," said school owner, teacher, and dancer Yanlai Wu, of Mt. Lebanon. She founded the dance studio, now housed in the Diamond Building on Fifth Avenue, Downtown, in 2004 "to keep Asian dances and traditions alive" in the region.

Last Saturday, nine of the younger dancers, ages 7 through 9, performed a Mongolian folk dance and a Chinese "icy cherry candy dance" in appropriate costume at the Green Tree Public Library as part of its monthly program for preschoolers and kindergartners.

Dancer Victoria Yang, 8, of Squirrel Hill, said she likes performing the Asian dances because they are different, and she is proud of her Chinese heritage.

"I like to show these beautiful dances," said Ms. Wu, who was born in China. "Besides it's a chance to practice."

It is also her way of promoting Asian culture, which is preparing to celebrate Sunday. That day, Ms. Wu will telephone family across the world in China, dine on dumplings filled with sweet, sauteed pork and wear a traditional red dress, or chi-pao, for luck.

Mimi Jong, whose daughter, Marissa Le, 16, takes lessons at the school, will eat a traditional fish meal on New Year's Eve, wear new clothing, and put a traditional red envelope containing money, a symbol of good fortune, under her daughter's pillow.

The Mt. Lebanon woman, who was born in Indonesia, plays a two-string bow instrument in a local Asian musical group, Jasmine Dynasty, in which Ms. Wu dances.

Most of their performances of traditional Chinese music takes place in schools to introduce youngsters to the art form.

Ms. Jong is also president of HarmoniZing!, a Pittsburgh area group with a mission to "promote cross-cultural understanding through the arts."

Ms. Jong said the biggest challenge to promoting Asian culture in Pittsburgh is the lack of an educational unit and support facilities.

"We cannot do it alone. We need support," she said of support from those who appreciate other cultures.

Certainly that appreciation has taken root among dancers at Oriental Star.

"It's interesting the different costumes and the stories behind them from different parts of Asia," Ms. Le pointed out. Her favorite costume is a look traditional to Mongolia, with boots, and chemise with long sleeves, and "complicated layering."

Ms. Wu said her aim is for her 50 students, ages 4 to 50, to view dance as a universal art form and not simply an Asian or Chinese tradition.

"They're not just to perform at events," she said. "They should be artists."

Another Oriental Star performance will be held tonight at the University of Pittsburgh, and Sunday at Carnegie Mellon University. For more, visit www.orientalstardanceschool.com, or call 412-344-1585.