Two young dancers from Windham have been awarded a Traditional Arts Apprenticeship through the Maine Arts Commission to study traditional Chinese dance.

Mae Pryor Rosenstein and Sylvie Pryor Rosenstein, 16, are twin sisters who have been dancing together since they were 3 years old and taking classes at the Chinese & American Friendship Association of Maine Chinese School in Westbrook since they were 14 months old. They won the award, along with Lily Thompson of Portland, who they have been dancing with since they were preschoolers.

Sylvie Rosenstein said for her and her sister, dancing is “a tradition we look forward to.” The sisters said they have enjoyed dancing since they were little, “and will continue to love it.”

The Rosensteins will perform the Peacock Dance, a traditional dance of the Dai Minority, at a Chinese New Year celebration on Saturday, Feb. 6, hosted by CAFAM Chinese School, at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center. The daylong celebration of the Year of the Monkey runs from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Kelli Pryor, director at CAFAM, said the Peacock Dance is “one of the most beloved dances, it’s sort of iconic, and one that the dancers graduate to when they’ve mastered a lot of movement in Chinese dance.”

Pryor said the dance features “elegant, small movements of the arms and feet and is about gracefulness and posture.”

Mae Rosenstein said the Chinese New Year celebration is “one of my favorite parts of the year. I’ve known most of the people at the Chinese school since they were little, we know each other well, and the dance is special to do with friends.”

The sisters will take classes from Master Dancer Fan Luo, who runs the international studies program at the Hyde School in Bath. Pryor said Luo has been a role model for girls at the Chinese school since she came to Maine as a graduate student from the University of Southern Maine.

Luo studied dance in China for many years, and has taught at the school sporadically for 10 years. Pryor said the grant will allow Luo to “carve more time from her schedule to teach advanced classes.”

“We really think she’s a great dancer,” Sylvie Pryor Rosenstein said. “She helps us improve lot, and teaches us unique dances.”

Kathleen Mundell, special programs director at the Maine Arts Commission, said the apprenticeship is a 26-year-old program that funds partnerships between a master and a student the master selects. The applications are typically for traditional art forms, such as basket making, boat building and fiddling.

“The master dancer is very accomplished,” Mundell said. “And the apprentices seemed very interested and eager. We just had a meeting where they received their certificates and they were just great young ladies.”

Next year, the Rosensteins will learn a long-sleeve ribbon dance, where the sleeve of the dress acts as a ribbon in the performance.

A Closer Look

The 2016 Chinense New Year Celebration, presented by the Chinese and American Friendship Assocation of Maine, is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 6, from 10 a.m,-3 p.m., at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center, Westbrook Middle School on Stroudwater Street. The event features Chinese dance performances starting at 11 a.m., children’s crafts, Chinese food, Chinese teas and more. Admission is $6, $4 for children 12 and under and $20 for families of five. For more information, see www.cafammaine.org.

In their starting poses for the Peacock Dance are, from left, Mae Pryor Rosenstein, Lily Thompson and Sylvie Pryor Rosenstein. The girls will perform the dance at CAFAM Chinese Schools’ Chinese New Year celebration on Feb. 6 in Westbrook.