John Cass Remembered

Alma Smith:  [ from 2015-December-Set&Link.pdf ]

Recently, while visiting my home city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, I had the opportunity to talk to John Cass about the dance written for him, and now published in the new RSCDS Book 49.  I also had the opportunity to talk to Dr Peter Avery, who devised the dance John Cass to celebrate John’s 90th birthday.                                                                                        

   John Cass was born in April, 1922. He is now 93 years old and still very involved in Scottish country dance in the Newcastle area.  He’s been on the committee for Newcastle Branch for over 50 years and continues to be an active member. He has organized the Newcastle Festival for 30 years*, since its inception.  John has been part of the Newcastle demonstration team and was its convener for many years, leading the team to festivals and events throughout Europe and in the United States.  John currently teaches a very popular afternoon dance class in Newcastle, assisted by his wife, Patricia (in photo).  He and Patricia have a son, Peter, who is also a dancer.

   Peter Avery told me he had originally been approached by Ian Thow, an accordionist who used to live in Newcastle, and now lives in Scotland. Ian had written a 32-bar jig to celebrate John’s 90th birthday and suggested that Peter write a dance to go with the music. For John, Peter wanted to write a 5-couple dance which included an old figure and a recent figure.  Hence, the dance John Cass includes down the middle and up as the old figure and left shoulder tandem reels as the recent figure.  Peter has devised and published other dances in the books The Geordie Diamond and The Newcastle Half Century.  His well-loved dance The Music Will Tell You was published by the RSCDS in Book 41.                                               

   I asked John if there was any anecdote he would like to share about the dance. He told me that he had recently overheard two people talking about the dances in Book 49.  One said to the other:
“John Cass – is he still alive?”   He had a quite chuckle about that!

   I am happy to report that John is alive and dancing beautifully. I wish him many more years of dancing and teaching.  He is an inspiration and a testament to the power of Scottish country dancing to keep people young at heart. . . .Alma Smith

* The Festival Man, in RSCDS Book 48 also honours John Cass