Croatian dance performance of the Tamburitzans in Youngstown.,

YOUNGSTOWN — Highlighting the culture, dance, music and clothing styles of eight different countries was part of the long-running Tamburitzans performance which drew a large crowd Sunday at the Ford Family Recital Hall in the DeYor Performing Arts Center.

The performance included a multi-media showcase about the selected countries, followed by a dance number from that country.

Alyssa Bushunow, company manager and former performer for Tamburitzan ensemble, said the performance is something she looks forward to bringing back to the Mahoning Valley each year, where fans continue to flock to the performance year after year.

“What is unique about the Tamburitzans is it is a different show every year. We create new, two-hour productions every year and take that on the road during the academic year,” Bushunow said, noting the performers are students, mostly from the colleges and universities in the Pittsburgh area.

She said the performance’s eight different sets were designed to highlight the Bulgarian, Croatian, Nordic, Celtic, Serbian, Russian, Polish and Georgian cultures.

“Even if you have not grown up in any of these cultures it is so energetic to watch. We do all our own sound, our costumes, we have a live orchestra and dancing,” Bushunow said.

She said the performers major in a variety of subject areas, not just the performing arts, including accounting, pharmacy, logistics, business, and nursing.

John Coric, vice president of the Tamburitzans board overseen by the Pittsburgh International Folk Arts Institute, said the group often performs for theaters of 500 seats or more.

Co-promotion from local cultural and arts organizations, like Happy Hearts and Simply Slovak, help to make the shows a success.

“That is part of our success, partnering with those other organizations,” Coric said.

Coric said some families have participated in the show for three generations.

“The shows strive on providing an entertaining presentation of the culture. We continue to keep this alive after 83 seasons, ” he said.

Erin Danchise of Youngstown said many people from Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church in Youngstown attended, as did the Happy Hearts, a Croatian group.

“We brought everyone here to see this and gain an appreciation. Everyone is excited because this is a generational event. The Tamburitzans have been around for a very long time,” Danchise said.

Father Bosko Stojanovic of Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church said about 80 people from the church attended.

“Last year I couldn’t attend because I broke my foot. I look forward to seeing the professionals and how they preserve the traditions,” he said.

Cathy Doslovic of Youngstown said she has friends performing in the show.

“I have attended this when it was held at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. I always look forward to the music, the dance and the costumes. The costumes are always fantastic,” she said.

Noreen Moderalli of Niles said the dances and performances give the audience “a flavor of a lot of different countries.”

“Sometimes they sing, sometimes they play the instruments from that country,” she said.

Laura Davis of New Middlesex said she has seen the show before and brought Josie Radomski of Youngstown who has never seen it.

“The lighting and the dance performance are amazing to see,” Davis said.