Dan Scheuch | Board President

Dan Scheuch is third-generation native of the Washington DC area. He first stepped into dance as a college student in Asheville, North Carolina, where authentic bluegrass and old-time music rang from the hills. There, he also began grassroots organizing, working with community-based environmental organizations and one of the nation’s first small business incubators.

Dan’s days in Asheville imparted a love of dance and the connections with others he made through it. This led him to his first Tango classes in 2007, and he has been active in our community ever since, learning from the many great maestros who have contributed to the DC tango scene. Dan is a graduate of Tango Mercurio’s teacher training program, and, as a Board member, looks forward to ways to grow and strengthen our Tango community.

Alexandra Russell | Older Adults Program Director, Secretary Emeritus

A writer, editor, and translator, Alexandra has a Master’s Degree in Translation from the University of Paris, France. The diplomat’s daughter grew up in the Congo, Gabon, and France before settling in Washington, DC. She worked for decades in international organizations, including over 20 years at the InterAmerican Development Bank, where as a translator and reporter she covered Latin American and Caribbean development projects and cultural events, and produced annual reports. She previously served on the board of the American Translators Association and as president of the IDB Photographic Society and of Footnotes, the International Monetary Fund dance club. A lifelong love of folk music and dance led her to the tango: she started dancing it in 2006, publishing articles about it in 2007, teaching it in 2010, and studying its history in 2013. Alexandra joined the Board in 2018. She was trained as a Teaching Artist by Arts for the Aging in 2019.

Jonathan Fernandes | Board Member

Jonathan grew up in Goa, a cozy state on the south-western coast of India, known for its food, music, and laid-back lifestyle. He holds a Master of Science in Mathematics from the Indian Institute of Science and a Doctorate in Mathematics from the University of Maryland, where he teaches mathematics and statistics. When not teaching, he is active in tango, guitar, cycling and martial arts (jujutsu).

Keenly interested in building communities, Jonathan previously served as Treasurer and Festival Coordinator of the Argentine Tango Club at the University of Maryland. He has been part of the DC tango community for a decade and played guitar in the Tango Mercurio Community Orchestra.

Jonathan joined the Tango Mercurio Board in 2022 to help grow the tango community, and has often volunteered as an event host, instructor and DJ, in addition to his other activities for the organization.

Mona Moussa | Board Member

A native of Egypt, Mona holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Cairo University in Egypt, a Certified Public Accountant license in Virginia, and a Master of Business Administration from Kellogg School of Management in Evanston, Illinois. She has extensive experience as a finance and general business strategy executive at multinational organizations such as PwC, KPMG, and McKinsey & Company, AES, Inc, and Mars Inc.

Mona’s love of sports and dancing started in elementary school in her hometown of Cairo, Egypt. She performed Egyptian folk dancing at school events and played handball, turning professional at 16 as a member of the Egyptian National women’s team through college. Her love of Argentine tango started on a business trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2013. After attending a tango show, she simply fell in love with the dance and music and knew that tango is her newfound passion. Upon returning to the U.S., she started her first tango class with Tango Mercurio and has been a Tango Mercurio student ever since. Mona joined the Board in April 2022.

Joerg Schlatterer | Board Member, Tango Instructor

Joerg has been dancing since his teenage years in Germany. With his wife Sarah, he founded and managed a ballroom dance club in New York City and participated in numerous ballroom competitions in the U.S. He placed 2nd in the National Championships in waltz and international style tango in 2009.

After discovering Argentine tango in 2013, Joerg focused on developing his passion for tango through musicality and connection. He started teaching tango with Tango Mercurio in 2015. As a professional educator, he enjoys inspiring new dancers to appreciate Argentine tango.

Ramu Pyreddy | Tango Instructor

Ramu took his first tango lesson in 2000 in Buenos Aires and was hooked instantly. He started the Michigan Argentine Tango Club at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and has danced, DJ’d, and taught all over the US and Canada. The host, DJ, and resident teacher at Milonga Zandunga, a regular DC area dance party, Ramu joined the Tango Mercurio faculty in 2013. His teaching and dancing are characterized by a keen musical interpretation, infectious enthusiasm, and a deep love of both the music and dance. He teaches tango for the social dance floor with an emphasis on connection, musicality, and improvisation.

Amanda Garley | Tango Instructor 

Tango found Amanda when she was studying to be an engineer in 2010. It was the perfect moment to wake her up to the real joys of life: connecting with people, grabbing life by the horns, and being open to unexpected discoveries. Because of tango she has traveled the world to attend marathons and festivals around the United States, Canada, and Europe, bonded with people of all ages and backgrounds, and learned new skills such as teaching, DJing, and event organizing. Amanda joined the faculty in 2020. She uses her deep understanding of the tango to help students reach a level of satisfaction with their dancing.

Sarah Schalatterer | Tango Instructor

Sarah has been dancing since her childhood. Her dance and body education experience ranges from ballet, yoga and pilates, to international ballroom dancing. After enjoying competitive ballroom dancing in the U.S. for many years, she fell in love with Argentine tango in Washington, DC in 2013.

She joined Tango Mercurio as tango instructor in 2015. Inspired by the music and her dance partner, she brings elegance and grace to the dance. As a medical professional, Sarah enthusiastically communicates the potential of Argentine tango for maintaining mental and physical well-being with the DC community.

Nick Thompson | Tango Instructor

Nick Thompson was first exposed to Argentine Tango in 2009 as a college student in Portland, Oregon. During his first year, he became ingrained through the tango club at his university, the local practicas and milongas, as well as his first Tango festival. So inspired, he spent his next summer abroad in Argentina studying with a local teacher. Later, he went on to Xiâ’an, China, where he taught English, Art, and eventually Argentine tango in classrooms and local coffee shops, building the first tango community in Xiâ’an. Nick returned to the US in 2016 and has been dancing, teaching, organizing, and hosting milongas in the DMV ever since.