The Friends of Argentine Tango 10th Anniversary Gala was a spectacular, heartwarming event—bringing together old friends and new from the Tango community of New York to celebrate our important milestone.
Special guests included: Santiago Villalba, The Ambassador of Argentina, The Grammy Award Winning Pedro Giraudo quartet, and—most of all—two seniors , Larry Morgan & Belgica Jimenez,who participate in our dance programs, sharing their experiences with FoAT!
Leo, Marianna and I performed; we watched an inspiring video featuring longtime participants in FoAT dance programs describing the intrinsic value of movement throughout life. For me, dance is truly as essential as any vitamin.
Our mini-FoAT style dance class drew a large crowd to the floor. The basics of Latin dances lifted our spirits. Fueled with authentic Argentine food—and the sweetness of dulce de leche desserts—we danced as the boat rocked, passing the Statue of Liberty in the New York Harbor, as fireworks exploded in the night sky.
We’re still short of our fundraising goal for 2023 and we hope that you will help us meet our numbers so we can continue to provide the benefits of dance to the seniors from Manhattan, Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn in 14 of programs. In 2024, we also hope to reboot our children’s programs that were suspended during Covid.
Because of your generous support we netted $3100 in gala ticket sales and $5700 in donations. We are only $4300 away from reaching our $10,000 fundraising goal to commemorate FoAT's 10th Year Anniversary.
We would like to extend our appreciation to the donors, teachers, musicians and volunteers who made the Gala a huge success:
Argentine Tango Society, Pedro Giraudo Quartet, Regina Angeles, Denise Dalfo, Ruth Epstein, Susan and Tim Ettenheim, Candy Korman, Mariana Parma, Karina Romero, Debra Skylar, Maryann Somar, Toni Tomai, Maria Valentina, Nadia Vee
With our deepest gratitude,
Walter Perez + Leonardo Sardella
In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept 15 - Oct 15) we have many addtional programs scheduled:
Sept 22: We are adding 2 special programs with 4 Workshops and a show with 9 artists at Cothoa and at YM & YWHA Senior Centers thanks to the LMCC Creative Learning Grant. We also had a celebration at the Park Slope Center for Successful Aging in Brooklyn.
October Fridays (Oct 6, 13, 20 + 27): Fiesta Latina - we will be teaching social Latin dance workshops at the Hudson Guild thanks to a grant from the West Side Community Fund.
October 15: Workshop and exhibition with Walter Perez, Mariana Parma and Leonardo Sardella at Teaneck NJ Public Library.
October 16: Exploring LGBTQ+ Ancestry at CBST ( Congregation Beit Simchat Torah) Andy Ingall and FoAT faculty. 7:00 pm at 130 West 30th Street
October 26 - 29: NY Queer Tango Festival
If you think dance is an essential part of your life, please help us share it.
FoAT is a 501c3 non-profit, so all contributions are tax-deductible, and your donations go directly to bringing the joyful benefits of dance to many New Yorkers without access to dance opportunities.