Details
Cat Sloboda and Tom Santarsiero have been playing for contras and ECD around Western New York for years. Relatively new to our stage, and a powerhouse pianist, Alex Fortier joins with Cat and Tom for a new combination. Margaret teaches and calls the dances.
Admission is charged on a sliding scale, with $12 as the suggested donation. Our admission fees don’t cover all our costs, so feel free to pay more if you can. We offer an introduction to contra dancing starting at 7:00.
Caller
Margaret Mathews
With more than 35 years experience as dancer, musician and caller, Margaret’s easy-going, engaging style gets everyone out on the dance floor. Her ability to smoothly adjust the dances to the experience level of the dance community make it a fun and accessible evening for everyone. In addition to contra dances, she calls for traditional Old Time square dances, Civil War reenactments, hoedowns, weddings and other joy filled occasions. Her dance calling has taken her up and down the East coast, from the Carolinas to Vermont, as well as the Northwest and Canada. As a musician, Margaret has played with Homage Quebecois, Wildroot String Band, and others.
Band
Cat, Alex & Tom
Catherine Sloboda (fiddle), Alex Fortier (piano and accordion), Tom Santarsiero (guitar, diatonic accordion and foot percussion)
Three of Western New York’s accomplished traditional dance musicians join together to bring us great tunes from Western European and Québécois regions.