The Maine Arts Commission Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Awardees- Fiscal Year 2009
Greg Boardman, Auburn
Apprentice: Jasmine Chick
Greg Boardman, from Auburn fell in love with fiddle music in 1970 and never looked back (he was a rock and roller in the 1960’s). Boardman has performed with and traces his own musicianship to such luminaries as National Heritage Award winner Simon St. Pierre, Otto Soper, and Ben Guillemette. Boardman’s apprentice, Jasmine Chick, of Lewiston, has been fiddling for four years. She says she loves the way the bow seems to not even move, while the tune itself is fast paced and exciting. It is, she says, “the only way to allow the violin to laugh.”
For more information on Greg Boardman and his works of art, please refer to his listing in the Maine Arts Commission's Artist Directory.
Normand Gagnon, Rumford
Apprentice: LeeRoy LeBlanc
Accordionist Normand Gagnon is a native of Quebec, who moved his family to Rumford in 1971. He has played the accordion for 59 years, and plays traditional French Canadian jigs, reels, polkas and waltzes. In the 1980’s he teamed up with guitarist Marcel Larrivee and washtub bass player Bill Beauchesne to for the group La Groupe de Joie. His apprentice, LeeRoy LeBlanc comes from a musical family. LeeRoy has often picked up his guitar to accompany his father on the accordion. LeeRoy also plays the banjo, mandolin, and harmonica.
David Surette, South Berwick
Apprentice: Robert Sylvain
Guitarist David Surette lives in South Berwick, but explores his French Canadian roots with frequent trips to Quebec to perform. He performed in Quebec City in July of this year as part of the Quebec 400 celebration. He has also performed for the Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife, the Champlain Valley Festival, the Boston Folk Festival and the American Folk Festival. He was a founding member of the Airdance band, and has recorded four albums. David’s apprentice is Robert Sylvain, a founding member of Boréal Tordu. He plays guitar and dobro.
Image: David Surette (L) with apprentice Robert Sylvain (R)
Indhra Rajashekar, Scarborough
Apprentice: Rangapriya Rajashekar
East Indian dancer Indhra Rajashekar, of Scarborough will train her apprentice in the Indian Bharatha Natyam dance form. The dance has a narrative form, with the dancer using mime and gesture to tell the story. Rajashekar has taught dance in Rockland County, New York, and moved to Maine to found the Eastern Cultural Heritage Organization. Indhra began dancing at the age of six, and will be teaching her daughter, Rangapriya as an apprentice.
Image: Indhra Rajashekar (L) with apprentice Rangapriya Rajashekar (R)
Cindy Larock, Lewiston
Apprentice: Gabriel Jacques
Larock is a veteran of the apprenticeship program who began by apprenticing to master stepdancer Benoit Bourque, of Quebec. Cindy describes herself as a “born-again Franco” who came to embrace her French cultural roots, she says, “only after living the first two decades of my life obliviously as a generic New Englander.” Cindy founded Les Pieds Rigolants (The Giggling Feet), a dance ensemble for young dancers. Her apprentice, ten-year-old Gabriel Jacques, is a bilingual, first-generation Franco-American who says that he enjoys dancing “because it makes for a good house party.”
For more information on Cindy Larock, please refer to her listing in the Maine Arts Commission's Artist Directory.
Image: Cindy Larock (L) with apprentice Gabriel Jacques (R)
Theresa Secord, Waterville
Apprentice: Shannon Secord
Penobscot basketmaker Theresa Secord founded the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance in the 1990’s, where she serves as Executive Director, and has been instrumental in preserving the art of basketmaking among the four tribes in Maine. Her efforts have ensured that a younger generation of basketmakers masters the art. Theresa is passing her skills to her neice, Shannon Secord. Theresa is a former member of the board for the New England Foundation for the Arts, and is the recipient of numerous honors, including the United Nations Women’s World Summit Foundation Prize for Women’s Creativity in Rural Life.
