When four UF professors walked to the front of room 109 in Little Hall, they didn’t start lecturing.
They sang a song in Chinese to the crowd of about 200 students and faculty gathered Monday night to celebrate the Year of the Tiger at the Chinese New Year Talent Show.
Students stood up, clapped and sang along. They also performed by singing, dancing, reading poetry and performing a “Finding Nemo” skit in Chinese at the talent show, which was sponsored by the Asian Studies program and the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures.
The Chinese New Year began Sunday, and the year of the tiger stands for bravery and independence.
Students performed with energy, confidence and humor. Many joked as they performed and kept the audience laughing throughout the show.
The audience clapped the most during the performance of a group of freshmen who danced and sang to “Beijing huanying ni.”
The students pranced around the stage as they sang the words in a range of different pitches.
Between performances, the six emcees led games like jeopardy and trivia, drew raffles and handed out prizes.
Professor I-Chun Peir said participation in the talent show is voluntary, but students love the event.
John Mahoney, a sophomore Chinese major, said students do not just perform for themselves.
“You perform because you don’t want to let your classmates down,” Mahoney said.
