By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
April 23, 2000
James Casamassa fell in love with the woman who would become his wife before she even said “Hello” to him.
“God placed us in the right place at the right time and made us both available to each other,” says James, 58. “I was sitting behind the reception desk at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio [in Gary] where I worked as a part-time dance teacher. The front door opened and in walked Helen–a stunningly attractive woman who was a cross between Gina Lollobrigida and Sophia Loren.”
Helen, now 66, had been hired as the studio’s manager, which put a kink in James’ plans to ask her out. He wasn’t sure it was such a smart idea to ask his boss out on a date.
“I told my stepmother about the situation and she told me that I should ask [Helen] out,” he remembers. “The worst that could happen was a refusal.”
Helen had been expecting his invitation.
“I sensed that he liked me,” she says, laughing. “I saw in him a very kind, unselfish, caring person. I knew he was younger than me though, and I knew he was kind of afraid to ask me out. In those days, it was very uncommon for younger men to date older women.
“Also, it wasn’t that common for women to be bosses, so I admired that he didn’t let that intimidate him. I was kind of hoping that he would get over all that and ask me out though. It took him a couple months, but he finally asked me out. . . . He took me to dinner and a play in Chicago. We had a really nice time.”
Engaged in January 1967, they married eight months later. She enjoys gardening and he likes to golf, but their passion for dance is shared. They belong to a formal dinner-dance club and go out dancing as often as they can.
“I was raised in a Greek environment where my mother used to take us to church dances all the time,” she says. “I’ve always loved it.”
Helen still teaches at her own studio–Helen’s Ballroom and Latin Dance in Crown Point, Ind.
“Jim helps me out once in a while,” she says. “It’s always a lot of fun to work together. Someone once asked me if I could have married a man who didn’t dance and I didn’t have to think about it. No. Dancing is a part of my life.”
Pausing, she adds, “Well, I suppose if worse came to worse and he didn’t know how to dance, I could’ve taught him. But Jim’s the best of all worlds.”
