July TutTNewsletter LastB

July 2010
A Special Tribute - The Man Behind the Vision, Jerry Neri
Tango under the Tent featured in Orange Magazine
Jerry Neri with Randi Perrelle, Sara Grdan and Ivan Terrazas
In this issue
- Orange Magazine
A Special Tribute
- Our Chair person
Randi Perrelle
- Message from
our president
- Community
Outreach
- Workshops and
events
-Profile of a Member
- TutT Schedule
All the world's a stage, and all the men and women
merely players: they have their exits and their
entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts,
his acts being seven ages.
William Shakespeare
Jerry Neri utilized this world to its fullest. He lived life
with a passion that could have been perceived as
intimidating. Yet, everyone followed him like the
Pied Piper following the sound of his flute--somehow
knowing, trusting.
The zeal with which he conducted any project made
believers of many. If you didn’t agree with his point
of view, with the artistry of a genius he painted a
picture of a multi-faceted outcome.
He was a respected man in many circles and took on
challenges fearlessly and with gusto. The lesson he
offered was that perfection came with hard work and
focus.
The article in Orange Magazine about TutT was
written by Kristin Jensen and it reads: “A doctor’s
dream to dance lives on in Orange County”. Ms.
Jensen writes about Jerry Neri and his passion for
tango, making his memory an inspiration for others
to follow their dreams.
She also talks about tango in general and about our
organization. Many of the magazine’s readers
intrigued by this wonderful article and exquisite
photographs taken by Chris Ramirez are coming to
our beginners lessons attending our milongas and
visiting other tango venues.
Thank you Orange Magazine.
Argentine tango came late in his playbill. With what
time he was given, he influenced many, showing how
dedication and love could realize a vision. He wanted
to leave an indelible mark, to remind his friends how
much could be accomplished even when time is
limited.
Jerry lived his life with a special charm. He was a
generous man and opened his experience to all who
wanted to learn. Once he engaged you with his
passion, you felt inspired and trusting. We miss you
my friend.
Sher
Jerry Neri with Maestro Tito Castro
Phenomenal Woman – Randi Perrelle – Chair – Tango under the Tent
I'm a woman – Phenomenally - Phenomenal woman, that’s me. Maya Angelou
From the days of 43 Grey Court and
the tent Randi was a gracious
hostess to all her guests and she
continues to show her kindness
today.
She demonstrated a sense of
hospitality to all those who
entered her home then. We all
watched in awe as she
supported her partner Jerry. She
demonstrated a sense of loyalty
and love. After Jerry’s passing she
kept the same pace and went out of
her way for TutT members as they still
danced at her residence.
Clearly we all saw and appreciated her generous gift to us to still
dance under the tent. This soft spoken, elegant, sensitive and
hard working woman made time for us.
Randi grew up in Warwick and I listened to many good stories of
her youth in Orange County. She followed the noble profession
of nursing and still dedicates her life to helping others. Randi is a
proud mother of her handsome son Andrew and is close to her
sister Pam and her family. When I see them together I see how
much love they share.
Randi continues to give support to all that we do for TutT. Her
presence brings an element of cohesiveness to our organization,
so I ask you to help me salute her in her generosity.
Randi we love you and cannot thank you enough for all you
contribute to Tango under the Tent!
Sher
message from our president
“To watch us dance is to hear our hearts speak.”
Greetings
Everything is green and we are
having hot humid days – the
highways are busy and people are
all about. We are most of the time
at Seligmann – but I wish for you to
keep checking our website for other
locations.
www.tangounderthetent.org
Much has transpired this year thus
far and we are moving forward. Our
Mega Milonga is a large part of our
mid year activity. We are very proud
of this event as it solidifies the non
profit work we do. This year the
recipient of our efforts is Orange
County Citizens Foundation. We are
excited and look forward to it being
a great success. I would like to
thank all of our officers, board of
directors and general members who
make this effort a reality.
Trends are setting the pace in
volunteerism where more people
are getting involved in new ways.
TutT needs some helpers – please
do contact me if there is a skill that
you have that you could lend to us.
I need some committee members
and would welcome a conversation
with you. Please do contact me by
email at [email protected]
Enjoy the summer and all it has to
offer – be safe and hope to see you
at all of our milongas!
Sher
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
Support TutT – Tangueros and Tangueras
needed!
G e t t i n g i nvo l ve d i n yo u r
community makes it healthier
and livelier, and numerous
organizations around the world
support community service
activities. If you are confident
and want to share the passion
of Argentine tango with others
– sign up now to help spread
the word.
We need a few
people to help in this area.
Please contact Sher at
[email protected].
We will be going out into the
community – like nursing
homes - agencies – libraries and
other venues spreading the
word of Argentine tango. If you
have any ideas of people or
groups in the surrounding
communities who would like us
to visit or come and share
Argentine tango with them
please let us know.
Join the Board of Directors in
the investment we are trying to
make in the Hudson Region.
Understanding that community
investment is a strategy of using
available resources to create a
brighter future for our area. Let
us think of the underlying
principle of community
investment – sharing of culture!
I encourage you – join us in the
planning of our community
investment – be the corner
stones of this endeavor!
Keep dancing – keep sharp –
keep healthy – share your love
for Argentine tango!
Sher
Workshops and special events
2010 started for TutT with lots of positive
energy and well attended milongas, the
TutT regular crew and many new faces.
In spite of this beautiful and furious
winter we were able to have most of our
milongas.
On February 13 for the first special event
of the year we had Carlos Duarte De
Chey and Sandra Burretti.
Their performance was captivating and
romantic, the perfect touch for a
Valentine’s Milonga!
Carlos Duarte De Chey and Sandra Burretti
March began on a very harmonious
and interesting note. On the 3rd, TutT
invited well known DJ, Ilene Marder
“La Rubia del Norte”. Ilene not only
played her wonderful music but also
presented what she calls “Meet the
Music”. The tangueros in attendance
were fascinated with her knowledge of
tango music and history and were left
with a more introspective sense of
how to hear and interpret the music.
Ilene Marder “La Rubia del Norte”
Hernan Brizuela and Maria Elena Ybarra
On March 13th TutT had itʼs second
workshop of the year with Hernan Brizuela
and Maria Elena Ybarra. Their class on
technique was very good for new tangueros
and essential for every one else.
Hernan and Maria Elena
Sher, Hernan, Maria Elena and Rudy
The performance by Hernan and Maria Elena was a
display of elegance and grace. Those present at this
event that evening were prized by watching them dance
the night away.
Carlos and Lynn Sampelayo
On March 27th, while our in house maestros Adele and
Jerry Kline were having a fabulous time in Buenos
Aires, Carlos and Lynn Sampelayo from Carlynn
Milonga in Westchester pitched in to teach the class for
new tangueros and old friends got to enjoy their
company and their fun and creative dancing.
To see more photographs of all TutT milongas go
to: tangounderthetent.org
TutT Volunteers in action
Several members of TutT took
time off from work and their
personal time and drove down
to the beautiful catering and
activity facility - Platzl
Brauhaus in Pomona, NY to
perform for four groups of
people who were in tours of
the Hudson Valley.
There were close to 450 – 475
people each time.
We
performed four times over two
weeks for about an hour each
time.
The volunteer dancers were:
Ingrid Jacob, Sigfredo Carrion,
Andrea O’Brien, Phil Strenski,
Jerry and Adele Kline, Mark
Augustin, Reuven Freuman
and Sher Singh.
We were
afforded a handsome donation
for TutT.
Many thanks to these
wonderful volunteers and
proud TutT members!
Sher
Inspiring Performances by our own TutT Members
In the spirit of camaraderie and sharing in the fun, TutT has started a new
tradition. To celebrate the success of Carlos Sampelayo and his student Jennifer Cole
in their recent competitions, TutT invited them to perform at our milonga. They
graciously accepted and gave us a demonstration of their beautiful and athletic
moves and combinations. We gave them first place also!!!
Carlos
Jennifer
Carlos then encouraged other couples to follow suit. Ron and MaryAnn Raspa
were next. They delighted the audience with their theatrical and whimsical
performance. Three thumbs up for this wonderful couple!!!
Then it was time to say good bye to “Our Kids” as we warmly call them for
they are the youngest members of our group. Sarah and Mike are going to
be out of the country for some time.
They gave us a breathtakingly
beautiful performance!!! We wish them all the best... We will miss them.
At TutT we look forward to many more performances by our members.
Ron and MaryAnn Raspa
Sarah and Mike
Karl’s Award
Flying Over Orange County….
Our Karl Jacob, board of director
member of TutT and husband of
our
treasurer, Ingrid hail from
Germany with an impressive education from the Technical University
in Darmstadt, Germany. His professional career led him through some
impressive leadership roles scanning a few decades. What we are
highlighting though is his love for model airplanes.
Karl started building model airplanes when he was fourteen years old.
He competed as a youngster in state competitions with Free Flight
Gliders.
In Hessen, Germany he even won the State Youth
Championship in Class A1 Gliders. After World War II he built the first
radio controlled model airplane in Frankfurt Germany with two of his
friends.
His professional career took precedence and he put his passion for
planes aside for a while but kept educated in the hobby.
When his son Lutz was thirteen years old he joined the Goshen
Gremlins which later became the Wawayanda Flying Club. Karl was
responsible for reviving the club starting in 2004. He served as their
president for 5 years. The club grew to 132 members.
Karl has an impressive list of wins and is – a Leader Member of the
Academy of Model Aeronautics – a nation wide organization. He is a
member of the “Black Dirt Squadron” and “Top o’New Jersey R/C Club”.
His wins range from 1992 through 2010 with eleven wins including
“Best of Show” with his most decorated models a scale Albatros and
1/6 scale Curtiss Jenny. His 2010 win was a few months ago – “First in
WW1” at the WRAM show with his Fokker-Eindecker.
Hats off to our flying tanguero – we are honored to be in your
company!
Sher Singh
To read an article about the First Annual Warwick Fun Fly go to:
http://www.strausnews.com/articles/2010/06/29/
Dance of Love
When
Lourdes
and John Minos
walk into the room, you see two beaming
faces, warm and friendly. Their energy exudes
their love and it is contagious! Once they start
dancing they become one with the music and
everyone’s eyes follow them around the line of
dance.
Lourdes was born and raised in Puerto Rico
and attended the University of PR. Wanting to
travel the world she became an international
senior flight attendant. John comments, “Her
numerous round-the-world travels still pepper
her conversations whenever reminiscing the
experiences – she’s commenting that a book is
likely, she'll tell it - I'll write it!”. Lourdes ventured into another career as a
legal interpreter/translator with NYS Family
Court in NYC. She married early had two
children, Katie and Justin. Always taking up a
challenge she again set a goal for herself after
seeing Tango Argentino. She took lessons and
started dancing tango.
John was born in Paris of a Greek father who
was raised in France and a Corsican
mother. His parents were drawn to the
American adventure and eventually
settled in NY when he was nine years
old. The essence of his early years
was greatly influenced by his
parents’ stories and this annoying
'old folk music' they called tango.
John also had two children from an
earlier marriage, Jason and Thea. John
worked in social work and business. He now
works for Porsche. John loves impressionist
art and was always involved in athletics but
never dreamed he would dance.
Lourdes and John would eventually meet at a
milonga. John comments, “Here is where we
disagree. Lourdes' memory takes the first
encounter to La Nacional and my memory
takes our first dance to La Belle Epoque. Since
we both have our proofs, the conclusion is as
follows: In thirty or forty years from now, we
will look at each other and say - 'Do you
remember La Nacional? That was La Belle
Epoque!' What we do remember is my tap on
her shoulder”.
“She was the newcomer to the local tango
scene and in one dance, completely took me
away from all my milonguera girl friends. It
started in 1999 and tango was responsible for
our marriage in 2001”, John fondly recounts.
They have danced in numerous milongas in
NYC, and took lessons with numerous
teachers. They explained that dancing was
quite frequent when they lived in Westchester
but much reduced after moving to Fishkill.
Still wanting to dance tango they wondered
about milongas in the Hudson Valley, where
they were introduced to Sylvia Cocca - a local
tanguera who told them about TutT and Jerry
Neri. John being the creative art connoisseur
heard the name and envisioned either
something amusing, or, an incredibly creative
space. His curiosity peaked and they visited
TutT. “Combined with a warm and charming
group of people, TutT quickly became one of
our favorite places,” John said.
John and Lourdes are the kind of dancers you
look up to, hoping to capture the essence of
their movement. From the moment they
embrace, pause and take the first step in the
line of dance, you see a magical moment that
happens. They move with the pulsating beat
in full Pugliese fashion and they become the
only ones in the room.
Sher Singh
TutT Schedule - July to December 2010
Saturday July 10 at 8:00pm. Our Second Mega Milonga - with live music and professional performers
at Stone Bridge Station 30 Wisner Rd, Warwick, NY
July: Saturdays 24 and 31
August: Saturdays 14 and 28
September: Milongas will be scheduled at other venues. Please check our emails and webpage.
October: Saturday 30. Again please check our emails and website for other dates and venues.
November: Saturdays 6 and 27.
December: Saturdays 4 and 11
TutT plans to host a New Year’s Eve Gala on Friday December 31.
The dates above are the already scheduled dates for milongas at Seligmann House.
Please check our emails and website for other events.
Nostalgia – Enchantment – Unique!
Dear friends of TutT –
We will not be meeting under the
tent as we knew it anymore. We
were blessed with the gift Jerry
Neri gave us by using his property
for this very special gathering.
Many of us will remember the
sounds of the frogs as the music
played into the summer night. We
will remember the trickling of the
pond on the side of the tent; the
Parisian atmosphere of the soft
lights and café tables.
We also will remember the towels
at the entrance of the tent and the
pattering of the rain on the tent.
We can reflect on wet milonga
days with Ferd rigging up a
canapé to save the floor and us
getting wet. Let us keep those
thoughts close and in the future
we will look to how we can
replicate a tent experience.
The Board of Directors decided
that the tent was not cost or labor
effective to keep it going. Randi
and Jerry did a lot for it to work
flawlessly as it appeared.
We will miss this atmosphere but
the great memories will prevail.
We are keeping the name and will
be having milongas at Seligmann
or other venues.
Sher
A Place in Time
The Tent at 43 Grey Court!
TANGO UNDER THE TENT
Our Founder
Jerry Neri, MD
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Sigfredo Carrion
Rudy Dominguez
Sherry Herlihy
Karl Jacob
Adele Kline
Luz Piedad Lopez
Ferdinand Ritz
OFFICERS
Chair
Randi E. Perrelle
President
Sher Singh
Vice President
Jerry Kline, DDS
Treasurer
Ingrid Jacob
Secretary
Yolanda Gorman
Media Officer
Sam Fernandez
VISIT OUR WEBSITE @
WWW.TANGOUNDERTHETENT.ORG
Newsletter Chair
Luz Piedad Lopez