Cabaret fundraiser grows out of family's drive to end Alzheimer's

The 12th annual Swinging Moments Cabaret, a benefit for the Alzheimer's Association, will be held Saturday, Nov. 3, at BSP Kingston.

“We’re doing a cabaret, and the format is mostly from the Swing Era,” said Dan Shaut of Lake Katrine, who is musical director of the Dan Shaut Swing Orchestra and teaches in the Highland Central School district. “It’s all professional musicians from the Tri-State Area.”

The event will feature music by the Dan Shaut Swing Orchestra with dance performances by Gaby Cook and her Gatsby Dancers. Dan Shaut said performers include singer Rhonda Denet from the Manhattan area, who normally does a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra, but this year will do a double tribute to Ella Fitzgerald and Aretha Franklin. He said the dancers, who specialize in Jazz Age dance, have won numerous international awards and performed at Carnegie Hall and Jazz at Lincoln Center.

The Shaut family is deeply involved in the cabaret. Dan Shaut sings and plays saxophone, his father, Bob Shaut, arranges most of the band’s music, and his sister, Andrea Shaut, plays the piano. In addition, his brother, David Shaut, designs graphics and creates video for the event, and sister Gina Shaut works the café and silent auction. Dan Shaut added that his sister-in-law, Jessica Morton, and brother-in-law, Tom Goehring, who both work on Broadway, also contribute greatly to the show. She does lighting and he does carpentry, and they bring in thousands of dollars worth of lights and curtains to transform the stage.

Dan Shaut’s mother, Linda Shaut, said an extended group of family and friends are also heavily involved with the event, helping before, during and afterwards, “We couldn’t do it without them,” she said.

The cabaret has raised more than $60,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association since its inception.

“We’re hoping to bring it past $70,000” this year, Dan Shaut said.

The event is held in honor of Dan Shaut’s grandmother, Marie Wojcio, who lived with Alzheimer’s disease for 14 years before passing away from it. “It was a super slow decline,” he recalled.

“My grandmother moved in with my family when I was 5 years old, so she was a huge part of the family. She was there at home when my parents were at work, watching us, so she was super involved in our family,” Dan Shaut said.

He recalled that his grandmother’s decline first became apparent when he was in middle school and worsened as he went through high school.

“My siblings saw it even worse when I went away to college,” he recalled. “My mom took care of her while she was working,” at IBM in Kingston and Poughkeepsie.

Dan Shaut said he and his three younger siblings had to learn to watch out for his grandmother. Cooking, for example, became a challenge because she would forget that she had put something on the stove, creating a fire risk. “It was quite a challenge,” he recalled.

Dan Shaut said his mother continued to be his grandmother’s caregiver up until the very end.

“She was in a nursing home very briefly, but we had her home for 13 1/2 of those 14 years. At one point, they did have to bring in some nurses to feed her. But, again, my mom did so much of it.” Linda Shaut said these aides ultimately became like family.

Dan Shaut said he wished his family could have taken better advantage of the programs and services the Alzheimer’s Association provides.

“I don’t feel like we knew enough about it, and that’s why we’re doing this, so other people can benefit from it,” Dan Shaut said. “I’m a teacher in Highland Central School District, and I’ve had other teachers come up to me and say their parents are affected by Alzheimer’s, and I’ve been able to put them in touch with the Alzheimer’s Association.”

He said it was important to his whole family because they know how profound the impact can be.

“We know how difficult it is and how sad it is to see a family member go through this -- to see how exhausted my mother was. To get people to reach out to the Alzheimer’s Association is very important to me,” he said.

About the Hudson Valley Chapter

The Hudson Valley Chapter serves families living with dementia in seven counties in New York including Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester. To learn more about programs and services offered locally, visit alz.org/hudsonvalley.

About the Alzheimer’s Association

The Alzheimer’s Association is the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Its mission is to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. Its vision is a world without Alzheimer’s. Visit www.alz.org .

If you go

What: Swinging Moments Cabaret

When: 7-9:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Where: BSP Kingston, 323 Wall St., Kingston

Cost: Tickets at the door are $20 for general admission or $15 for students and senior citizens. Advance tickets are $15/$12 or reserved-seat tickets are $20/$15. To reserve a full table for eight people is $125.

Web: www.shautjazz.com/cabaret