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James Lomath
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James "Jimmy" Lomath was born in London, England. He emigrated to the United States in 1955 with his family, coming directly to California. In those days Highland Dancing was governed in the United Kingdom by the Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing (S.O.B.H.D), and his principal teacher in London was Jack McConachie, a strong advocate of the S.O.B.H.D.
Jimmy met C. Stewart Smith in 1956 when Stewart was judging at the Southern California Highland Dance Association. Stewart also was a strong advocate of the S.O.B.H.D. so he and Jimmy's father had a common bond, which flourished until Jimmy's father passed in 1977.
In those early years Jimmy had the great opportunity to take classes from Stewart when he came to Los Angeles. He went to San Francisco once a month for a twelve-hour session with Stewart -- eight hours on Saturday and four on Sunday. Stewart taught the "Team" of the San Francisco Scottish Dancing club, and Jimmy had the opportunity to observe Stewart teaching social Scottish Country Dancing. Jimmy still remembers saying that one day he would like to do Scottish Country Dancing. Little did he know what was in store for the journey of a lifetime in Scottish Dancing with, perhaps, the consummate teacher of all time. The principles and values set by Stewart are the standard which thousands of dancers, teachers, and judges still try to achieve years after his passing.
In 1996, Jimmy gave a dance workshop in Orange County, California, honoring three local Scottish ladies in their 90s for their lifetime of giving their talents to the music and dance world. All proceeds were donated to the Children of Dunblane Trust Fund.
Jimmy was director of the Scottish Dance Ensemble and currently directs Celtic Spirit.
Jimmy passed away on June 16, 2018.
Dances James taught include Argylls Farewell to Stirling, Auntie Mo, Double Sixsome, Miss Alison Rose, Postie's Jig, and Sleepy Maggie.