Fifth in a series. 

Re: “Crossing Street Crossed a Line for Cassese”

Growing up in a Catholic Italian family in New York midway through the 20th century was a test for the Dance Doctor, John Cassese.

How he survived tests that broke others is a mystifying, inspiring testimony to his unbendable determination to become a singer and dancer.

Partly.

How Mr. Cassese survived to this day, by the sea in Pacific Palisades, is a winding, purposeful journey that proves no obstacle is too tall for a young man with a will to not merely survive but succeed.

The youngest of five, his first and tallest impediment was making peace with himself while being raised by parents who were complete opposites.

His mother he adored, an angel on earth, he said. “I could not have survived my childhood without her.”

Mr. Cassese, longtime owner of a Fourth Street dance studio in Santa Monica, describes his father as “a workaholic, a good provider with a very good sense of humor.

“But he also was violent. My father would come home drunk.’

Beatings would follow.

(To be continued)