About
The Cassettes: Part Spoof, Part Awesome
The Cassettes is a one-of-a-kind 80s Dance School, directed by Marissa Treichel. It features Byron Shire’s best dance classes eva; Private festival workshops; Live online 80s dance classes; and Byron Bay’s original and iconic Flashmob Dance Company (The Cassettes).
Hi I’m Marissa (Riss)!
BA Dance, Visual Art, Creative Writing, Grad Dip Ed.
Welcome to The Cassettes.
We love the 80s (obviously!), the fun of dance, but especially love seeing women shine as they shed their worries, and enter a playful, empowering headspace. The positive life-ripples are many.
The magic happens through our in-person classes, and our sparkly live-online Cassette Classes, incorporating research based self-care, creative activities, and a buttload of 80s dance.
What we’re about
Marissa and The Cassettes are honoured to help people feel more empowered, happy, energised and free, connected to each other and themselves, joyful, amused and embodied. Cassette classes are authentic, fun, professional, warm, creative and led with integrity and care.
Who
The Cassettes classes cater for women of all ages, including beginner to advanced dancers who are sensitive, possess a (possibly hidden!) playful and creative spirit, and a grounded and mature outlook: you really can have it all!
With top notch teaching by Vicki Lawrence and Marissa Treichel, and assisted by the shimmery Juz Grantham, Rohini Drury and Ruth Walker, The Cassettes feature the best adult dance students eva.
We heart diversity and celebrate all movers, of all age, sexuality, shape and colour. Together, we create an amazing vibe!
Featuring Byron Shire’s original Flashmob Dance Company, Mix Tape 80s Dance Classes, super-special contemporary dance classes, festival dance workshops and Flashmob shows, The Cassettes classes currently rock out in Byron Bay, Mullumbimby, Bangalow and online.
Dance styles
Cassette Dance Classes and Workshops include Modern Dance, Contemporary, Jazz and Ballet dance styles, dance-theatre and games, dynamic flying dance, and beautiful self-realising Cassette activities.
Our classes are immaculately planned and snazzily facilitated.
Feeling flashy?
The Cassettes is also home to the Flashmob Dance Company. Distinctively bright, bold, kooky and yet coordinated, the Flash mob Dance Company have rocked festivals and special events along the East Coast of Australia for the past eight years.
Background check!
Now it’s time for some educational television viewing. The Cassettes story as told by:
- ABC News
- Channel 10’s Sunrise, broadcast live from Southbank
The true story of The Cassettes
Or! You could read the true story, from the horses’ mouth (visualising a my little pony, if you please), right here. We’re taking it back, to 1986 in the land of The Big Pineapple, on the Sunshine Coast where it allllll began.
Cue flashback sequence: wavy faces and tinkly music.
1986. Marissa’s sister Pia, my cousin Alex and her neighbour-slash-best-buddy Lauren are choreographing with fervour to The Cars Greatest Hits, The Escape Club, Bananarama and Salt n Pepa. Props, use of levels and audience participation were important even then: notice the baskets used to throw lollies at their parents to keep them engaged during performances.
2013. The original cast of The Cassettes Flashmob Troupe is born! Buzzing after flashmobbing Don’t Stop Believin’ at a roller derby scrimmage in Byron Bay: with Josh Birse, Jo Burchell, Cass Bennet, Jesse Tucker, Zoe Abbot, Georgi Brooke, Riss, Kyla Blacksmith and Jodie Sydney.
1999 – 2010. Marissa learned more about leading groups and making dance theatre, through developing her own work as a grant recipient, and performing in other artist’s material throughout Brisbane, Melbourne and Byron Bay. She remembered how much fun it is to be involved in a show, and in dancing with passionate and creative people. Yet something was missing….
The question. Marissa could feel an urge growing. A crazy urge. She wanted to inject fun and humour into the dance world. To mess up the seriousness, while retaining the beauty and complexity of contemporary dance and choreography. Most of all, she wanted to make and share performances that actually connected with the audience! She wondered: Could dance be silly and smart at the same time?
2011. It was on a super fun trip to New York, dancing the night away to a hilarious 80’s cover band, the Ronald Reagan’s at Brooklyn Bowl, that the lightbulb moment occurred. Mid running man, Marissa realised: she could combine her 80’s pop culture childhood (aka, her happy place), with her love of contemporary and jazz dance and choreography, and working with groups. Yay-balls! It was a match made in artistic heaven. What could have turned into a Frankenstein, instead turned into a team of Super Freaks called The Cassettes.
2011 – 2012. Back in Australia, Marissa immediately began mucking around choreographing and putting on 80’s flashmob performances, with friends. Laughing her head off throughout the creation of Push It, and hearing the amazing feedback, was a sexy neon sign from the universe saying, “Keep Going”. Push It has since been performed by The Cassettes’ Flashmob Troupe at Splendour in the Grass, Byron Circus Arts and other special events.
Let’s Get Physical was originally devised as a duo with Marissa and Paula, for a friend’s 40th birthday party; later developed and performed by The Cassettes’ Flashmob Troupe at Mullumbimby Music Festival, featured in a film clip, and other events. Let’s Get Physical features pool noodles with authentic 80’s aerobic choreography – another winning combination.
80’s parties, what other zany ideas have they helped to birth?
2013 – 2016. The Cassettes, 80’s Flashmob Dance has been running as a truly outrageous dance school since 2013. It is now home to over 50 consistent dance students, stretching from the Gold Coast to Byron Bay.
Marissa, The Cassette Teachers, the Flashmob Troupe Gig Manager, Social Media Whizz, Tech Man Jake and all of the dancers contribute to making The Cassettes run like magic:
- 80’s Dance Classes for beginner to advanced dancers
- Top-notch Flashmob Performances and Marissa’s 80’s Dance Workshops for awesome events
- Incredible 80’s Hens’ Workshops
Where are they now:
What started as a radical and fun idea, is now a radical and fun reality. The true colours that shine through The Cassettes, continues to be the warm-spirited team work, that blends so hilariously with 80’s songs. Nothing’s gonna stop us now because we are living on a prayer. Combined with beautiful choreography and high-quality teaching, and wrapped up in a rainbow of lycra, dancing with The Cassettes on the east coast of Australia is an experience that shows heaven is a place on earth. Dance in Mullumbimby, Byron Bay and Burleigh Heads with The Cassettes 80s Flashmob Dance.
