L-R: Jack Maus, Patti Reum, Steve Suhring; David Stone in front.
Last Update: 23 April 2005
Contradancing is a traditional American dance form which is several hundred years old. It contains elements of square dancing and English country dancing. It is highly energetic and simple to learn, as the caller leads you on a walk-through before each dance. You do not need a partner to attend since this is designed as a mixer dance, suitable for families and people of all ages. The band will also play several squares, circle dances and waltzes for your dancing pleasure. Please wear soft-soled shoes or sneakers for dancing. It is also a good idea to bring a water bottle! Snacks and drinks will be available at the break, catered by Blue Roof Caterers.
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L-R: Jack Maus, Patti Reum, Steve Suhring; David Stone in front. |
The Toad Mamas have been playing together for several years on the contra dance circuit all over Virginia. The band itself hails from all parts of Virginia, from Suffolk to Louisa County to our own Highland County! All of the members are themselves dancers, which explains their love for the music and their vitality as musicians. They often work together with caller Herschel Nelson at the Richmond dances.
“Yo!” Jack Maus, a native of the Garden State, has been playing piano for more than 40 years. The last ten years he has broadened his musical horizons to include other keyboard instruments, such as the organ, harpsichord and piano accordion. Jack also has a variety of instruments he is in various stages of learning and playing, including the bodhran, concertina, fiddle and recorder. In addition to being a Toad Mama, Jack also plays Colonial English Country dance music in a duet known as the Wood Ducks. In his spare time, Jack practices criminal defense law and is the minister of music at his church. Jack and his wife Linda live in Cuckoo, a small community in the eastern half of Louisa County.
A native of Greenfield, MA, where contra dancing has been kept alive for generations, Patti started playing silver flute at a young age, both in band and orchestra. Years later while a student in Winnipeg, Manitoba, she developed a love for Celtic music when playing with an Irish fiddler friend and was attracted to the traditional French-Canadian dance music of the Red River Area. In the late 1980’s, after moving to Virginia, she started contra dancing. She has attended dance/music camps in WV, NC, and NY and played Celtic music in the Charlottesville area. She is the TOAD MAMA (so she says), though the origins of the band’s name will remain a secret! Playing for dances and building sets that makes the dancers “whoop and holler” is one of her passions. She now lives in Highland County.
From Deerfield, NH, now Gordonsville, VA, David has been playing mandolin, guitar, and tenor banjo for New England contra dances since the early 1980’s. In New Hampshire he was a dance organizer and has been a member of the Lamprey River Band, the No-See-Ums, The Clamtones, and Storm in the Tea as well as numerous other band combinations that have included the late April Limber, Sarah Bauhan, Allan Block, Bob McQuillen, Dudley Laufman, David Surette and others. He also produced and hosted the Ceili Show on WUNH in Durham and the Folk Show on WEVO, New Hampshire Public Radio, for a number of years. Now in Virginia and with the Toads, he says it is wicked awesome to once again be playing music with friends at dances.
Steve is a dancer as well as a musician and has been playing for dances throughout Virginia for many years. Living in Suffolk, Steve has a long-time association with the International Heritage Dancers of Virginia Beach, plays regularly with the Friends of Appalachian Music (FOAM), Orion, the Toad Mamas, and is the leader of OBeX, the Open Band eXperience. He has several recording appearances to his credit and has participated in numerous educational dance and music programs, workshops, concerts, and life celebrations.
Herschel enjoys working with beginners. His clear instructions and selection of dances help everyone have fun. He calls regularly in VA, NC, and Glen Echo, MD. He has called at three dance weekends. His sense of humor and enthusiasm is infectious.