Jul 29, 2016 4 min read

Editor’s note: This story has been modified to correct the time of the concert, which is Thursday, August 4 at 7 p.m.

The world’s longest-running live stage show in the United States is back in Washington.

In an effort to have their culture live on through music and dance, the Tamburitzans have returned for their summer practice and annual performance at the Olin Fine Arts Center at Washington & Jefferson College.

The Tamburitzans spend 25 days at W&J, living, sleeping and breathing their new performance. During the time, the entire two-hour performance, which includes everything from choreography, musical arrangements, costumes, lighting and sound, comes together. The group will travel all over the United States to perform.

A Pittsburgh treasure, the Tamburitzans are proud to say they are evolving. This year’s “Jubilee” performance marks the 80th consecutive season for the Tamburitzans, and with it will come some significant changes.

As of July 1, the Tamburitzans have officially cut ties with Duquesne University, where the troupe saw its beginning, in order to reinvent itself as a contemporary dance company.

“Duquesne University has been very good to us in this transition and very supportive,” said Robert Vukic, executive director of the Tamburitzans. “They transferred ownership of all the assets, which included our building, our bus, costumes, equipment, instruments. Everything was transferred to our new nonprofit corporation.”

Pittsburgh International Folk Arts Institute now assumes full ownership of the Tamburitzans, with Vukic as a board member. A Tamburitzan and Duquesne University student himself from 1974-78, Vurik also assumed executive director duties in February 2015.

Of the 30 performers, 28 of them are Duquesne students. The other two are from the University of Pittsburgh and the Community College of Allegheny County. With the dissociation from the university, PIFAI hopes to expand membership to many of the other Pittsburgh-based schools. For this to be possible, the Tamburitzans and PIFAI need to generate funding to support not only scholarships for these students, but to keep the live show running for another eight decades.

“This year, we’re becoming more modern, and we’re kind of expanding our horizons a little bit so we’re not just performing standard folklore,” said Stephanie Bartus, 21, a senior Tamburitzan and Duquesne student from Pittsburgh. Bartus got her start with the Tamburitzans at the age of 5 when she joined the Junior Tamburitzans.

Traditionally, the Tamburitzans performed traditional Eastern European music and dance, but now in order to generate more funding and expand their audience by trying to appeal to a younger crowd, they are making an effort to become “more contemporary, more relevant and frankly more commercial,” said Vukic.

“We’re trying to get things on a more tailored, more youthful, colorful and vibrant look. It will feel a little bit more like a Broadway show from a costuming perspective,” Vukic said, explaining the traditional Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian and other Eastern European costumes usually worn by the Tamburitzans will have a more modern twist to them this year.

Last year, the group added a tango set to the show, and this year a French number, swing dancing, and even an Indian representation will make their debut. A major investment in newer technology for producing sound and lighting will also bring contemporary changes to the show that reflects the audience’s higher expectations relating to vision, sound and feel.

Sustainability is a large goal of PIFAI for the Tamburitzans along with generating enough funds to keep the scholarships going for all students, no matter what university they are from. This requires fundraising events and the next step is to reach out to corporations, foundations, government agencies and individuals who will want to lend their help.

“We think that this is a worthy cause that they’re going to want to invest in,” Vukic said. “These are terrific college students that are earning their degrees and they have a very unique talent that we believe is worth preserving.”

The “Jubilee” performance will take place in the Olin Fine Arts Center at 7 p.m. Thursday. The show is free of charge, and no tickets are required.