Reyhan Tusuz & Turkish Romani Dance: Xpost from Tribe.net

This is what Maria of Zafira (www.zafira.com) wrote on her post:
Mon, April 28, 2008 - 8:26 AM
I found this on the Turkish Style Tribe page tribes.tribe.net/turkishstyle about Reyhan, a well known Rom dancer that has taught some of the best. I've not been able to study with her YET, sooon.... check out her and her husband on YouTube www.youtube.com/watch

Here's the Xpost:

I received a message today from one of Reyhan's longtime students and I want to share it because I think it's important that anyone who has gotten anything from this dance give something back to those who gave it to us. This is Ferda's email (please read my comments at the end): "...you know Reyhan Tusuz, the wonderful Turk Roman dance teacher from Gaziosmanpasa in Istanbul. Some of you have met with her and taken a class. I have been a friend and student of Reyhan's for 5 years and on my last visit I learned some very very upsetting news and I felt I had to do something. Some of you may know about what has been happening in Sulukule in Istanbul the oldest and longest settlement of Roman people in the world. The current city government is demolishing the historic area, forcing the people (who happen to be Roman some of the most marginalized people in the world and very poor) to accept very limited money and leave their homes. The money is not enough for the families to buy another home in Istanbul as the house prices in Istanbul are very high. Therefore the people must leave Istanbul or pay rent (very high rent) until their limited mney is gone and then they will have nothing. The whole community and this unique culture are being scattered and are at risk of being lost. For more about this you can read this here http://www.casbahdance.org/2006/10/plans-to-demolish-sulukule-istanbuls.html or this romnews.com/community/modules.php for more info. But this email is about our friend and teacher and a great Rom ambassador to the world, Reyhan Tuzsuz. Last week I learned that Reyhan's family is being forced out of the gecekondo neighbourhood where they were born, where they have lived with their extended family, where their mother died, where her children were born and are being raised and where she has brought the world to learn about her clture and especially her dance. The world is richer for it. So, after witnessing Reyhan's sadness about losing her home and her fear for what they would do because the government will not pay the (very little) money until they leave their home, and she has no money to put a security deposit down to rent a new home in her neighbourhood, I felt I had to do something as Im sure you would, if you knew... So here I am telling you all. If you would like to help, if you would like to contribue to preserving this treasure of a dance teacher in istanbul, THEN ...here is what you can do: 1. Send this message out to others who may want to help 2. Collect money from your community, even little bits will help THEN...2 options I can offer... Reyhan has no bank account so the safest way to send money is by Western Union, I think. You can do it on-line with your credit card, (there is a 20% fee) give her name Reyhan Tuzsuz and her location (Istanbul Turkey) and then Reyhan goes to the nearest Western Union office to her with her ID card and picks up the money. OR another option is you can visit the paypal website and go to the account yildizdanz@yahoo.com and the name Janet Shook. You can make a donation with no charge there. Jennet has been a student of Reyhans for five years. She moved to Istanbul largely for the purpose of studying with Reyhan and helping her with her career. Janet manages many of Reyhans affairs and on several occasions before has used her account to transfer money to Reyhan. This is our chance to help Reyhan and her family and to give other dancers a chance to learn with her. I hope together we can help this wonderful woman" There is another way to help Reyhan. She is teaching in Washington, DC on May 17 & 18 at Herdeljezi (& also in NJ on the 19th and in NY on the 20th - if you contact me, I'll put you in touch with her sponsors there....). Our "cause" this year is helping the Tuzsuz family get housing. Any proceeds after expenses are met and all artists are paid will be split between the WMFC and our gift to the Tuzsuz family. We will also have a collection box available for those who want to make personal contributions directly to Reyhan. Please spread the word and urge others to come as well. We are also planning a tour with Janet Shook for the Tuzsuz family in the Fall which will include Turkish Romani, Oriental and Folk dance. However, this tour hinges on whether or not we can get artists visas for the Tuzsuz family - which is no easy task after 911. However, I remain positive that we can pull it together. They will tour and teach and perform across the U.S. and all money will go to help them not only find a house but a studio where they can continue to teach and preserve their art & culture. For those who don't know, Reyhan's husband is an amazing violin teacher and he also teaches percussion. Brad took classes with him while we were there. I hope the entire community will come together to support this lady and her family. She is a true gem, and speaking personally I can say that she & Husnu have enriched my life one thousand-fold. I feel a great debt to her, and it is for that reason I will work my butt off to make this happen. But we can't do it alone. We need everyone's support. Please feel free to pass this info. along. I'll be posting everywhere, so I apologize for the crosspost. yours in dance, Kostana For info on Herdeljezi or Reyhan's workshops in DC, please go to: www.wmfolklifecenter.org