By Gary Alan Ruse….
The Caribbean Music Club, a social and philanthropic organization long a part of the South Florida scene with members in several communities, is disbanding this year but decided to close, appropriately, on a “high note” with a final big talent contest in April.
Each year the group holds auditions for talented area music students and awards scholarships to the most promising students to aid their continuing music educations. Members are now planning for the annual scholarship auditions to take place later this month at a Cutler Bay residence. All students of music from grades 6 to 12 living in the South Dade area are eligible.
To celebrate the joy they had shared over the years and their accomplishments, the club recently entertained members from the South Miami Music Club with a program on Egyptian music and customs at the Pinecrest home of Mary and Alan Cross.
“Members from both clubs enjoyed an ‘Armchair Visit to Egypt,’ an authentic Mediterranean lunch and a belly dancing demonstration,” said Pat Tiemeyer, who still commutes from upstate Stuart for the events.
“Vice president Jean Welsh, who trav-eled to Cairo this winter with her daughter, Joan, recounted their travels through Egypt, the pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx and the Valley of the Kings. She also told stories about the mysterious deaths and superstitions surrounding the explorers who discovered the cave leading to the tomb of King Tut.”
Tiemeyer told the story about adventurer Howard Carter, who was the first one to gaze through the opening in the tomb door and see the magnificent treasures of the young pharaoh inside.
“Five Caribbean Music Club members dressed in Queen Cleopatra costumes which were brought back from Egypt by Joan Welsh,” Tiemeyer said. “They marched in a procession before welcoming the beautiful guest dancer. Olivia Ruiz, a 16-year-old junior from Coral Reef Senior High School, presented an introduction to belly dancing and then demonstrated the difficult movements that require precise muscle tightening and releasing. She performed a delightful dance to authentic Eastern Mediterranean music.”
As part of the entertainment, members had to guess which items were hidden inside a King Tut mummy case and participated in a race to wrap two music club members head to foot, in the manner of real mummies.
A special “Cruising through Cairo” meal was prepared by the Taboulah Cafe in Stuart.
Club president Arlene Weyrick invited all guests and members to taste the exotic cuisine.
Music students wishing to participate in the club’s final competition recital should call 305-235-0561 to apply.
