Maureen Wang of the Fairfax Chinese Dance Troupe performed a ribbon dance as a "Tunhuang Flying Apsara" inside the Kogod Courtyard of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The museum celebrated the 2015 Chinese Lunar New Year, "the Year of the Sheep" with cultural activities at its Chinese New Year Family Festival in Washington D.C. on Saturday, February 14, 2015. An Apsara is a female spirit of the clouds and waters in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. The Tunhuang caves of China are famous for their ancient Buddhist murals depicting flying apsaras: fairies dancing and playing celestial music, flying amidst the rainbow. This costume is an adaptation of a traditional Hanfu (traditional dress of Han Chinese people) designed for a dance depicting lotus flowers and lily pads. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
