Beth – “ We both saw The Cassettes for the first time at the Lismore Lantern Parade in 2014 and just loved the energy. I then found out it was possible to join so I joined a year ago. I used to teach therapeutic dance called ‘Wu Tao’ but I never danced as a kid and I didn’t know if I could do it, but I could and I fell in love with it.
Jim – “ It’s essentially a flashmob dance troupe to 80’s music, always 80’s music.
Beth – Its about embodying the joy, the feel of the song, very theatrical, sort of classical mixed with contemporary dance. Marisa Treichel is the teacher who started it off and teaches all of us.
Jim – ” After the Bellingen Music Festival where they were performing every day and we both went down, I became a Cassette’s groupie. I loved watching them and had this urge to participate. I knew the moves a bit after watching Beth and found myself drawn to performing with them. They started a new class in Lismore and I signed up, very shy and felt very out of my depth. I had never danced either but Marisa makes the class so exciting.
Beth – “There’s this crazy element, very funny but also this almost spiritual connectedness. We’re all very close to each other, we’re a part of a strong community. Initially it started in Mullumbimby, then Byron and then the Lismore class started in August last year. We just had a giant flashmob in Byron a couple of weeks ago. All three groups performed ‘Eurythmics Sweet Dreams’ on the grassy section at Main Beach. So much fun!
Jim – “We met in Japan 13 years ago. We were both teaching English to Kindergarten and basically we felt like The Wiggles, singing and dancing. We both worked for the same company. Beth was in Osaka and I was in Tokyo and we travelled on the bullet train to visit each other..
Beth – “I moved back to Australia and then Jim followed and we lived in Melbourne for a few years. Eight years ago we moved to Lismore to our home in Girards Hill with our little baby Iggy. We both moved up here as natural therapists. I was a Shiatsu therapist and taught Wu Tao and Jim, a remedial massage therapist and he was teaching Tai Chi. I also have a background in theatre. I performed in the last Vagina Monologues at the Italo Club.
Jim – When we moved here we didn’t really know anyone. Country town, bit of a culture shock coming from the city but we found our niche. Lismore is great, it’s a country town but it’s so liberal (with a little ‘l’) like the guy who just drove by while you were taking our photo. On the road in red tutu’s in an approaching storm and he’s just like, nonplussed! whatever! That’s what I love…acceptance.
Beth – Five years ago we had Bea, our daughter here in this room in a big blow up bath. So beautiful and again something I probably couldn’t have done where i was in Melbourne. Again I felt that was a real gift being here. My friends were my midwife and Doula. It took us a while to settle in here but we kind of fell in love with this area. We feel like we can make the life that we want to make here.
Jim – I grew up in London where no one really looks at each other and everyone’s sort of miserable or depressed and then coming to Lismore people accept who you are, you feel free to express who you are. It’s very non judgemental. People smile at each other in the street. There’s a really strong progressive element in Lismore and I love that. I was worried about moving to a big country town at first with people that don’t share your views and it wasn’t like that at all. We value that our kids can grow up here and be who they are.”