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1906 - 1978
Adolphe Robicheau was born in Meteghan, on the "French Shore" of Nova Scotia, and moved to Massachusetts with his family at a very young age.
Robicheau trained in dance in Paris and returned to the USA to establish a dance school in Boston, with seasonal locations in Quissett, in York Cliffs, and in Provincetown. He began returning to Meteghan in the 1930s, always accompanied by his dear companion Arthur Vaillancourt. In the late 1950s the couple created La Vieille Maison, a museum of early Acadian life located in Meteghan, a personal philanthropy and legacy to his hometown. Together they ran the museum until Adolphe's passing in 1978.
Many of the "Stonewall Type" LGBT events that happened in Boston, Mass and Annapolis, Maryland, gravitate around these two men. In 1944 in Boston the opening of his new school was rescheduled by several weeks of protests that lead to the City of Boston holding a public hearing about the "men in purple tights." In 1949, Adolphe Robicheau and Allan Levitt (of Barretta, Maude, Three's Company, Desilou etc) faced a group of teenagers who revolted against his "feminine dance steps and revealing costumes." The story of the Bostonian having problems with a group of homophobic teenagers was picked up by the Associated Press and Robicheau mad headlines across the country in over 50 different daily newspapers. "Boys Revolt Against Sissy Dance". Several days later, news papers coast to coast publish headlines "Boston Dancer Convinces Maryland"; "Boys Finally agree; Ballet is no sissy dance!"
Adolphe Robicheau and Arthur Vaillancourt had plans to be buried beside each other, something the Robicheau family had no objections to. But, when Arthur died in 1981, the Vaillancourt family could not be persuaded that their brother be buried with his lifelong companion despite having made plans for it. Instead, he was interred in Suffolk without any announcement and no obituary is ever published. Their fortune was challenged in probate and Vaillancourt's brother, with whom he did not speak, was awarded the mansion they inhabited in Boston - a reward for a lifetime of homophobia.
The museum in Meteghan still exists, as do four of this other historical buildings in the United States. There is still a very active alumni of the Robicheau Dance Academy throughout the USA. The living memory of Adolphe and Arthur is still very much alive.
DanRobichaud writes: Adolphe Robicheau, world-renowned dancer and choreographer, was our first queer-Acadian icon. Robicheau was a Meteghan-born and met his life partner in Boston in the 1930s.
They were seasonal residents in Clare in the 40s, 50s, 60s, where they were just accepted, no matter how flamboyant they were. He had numerous properties, including Fanny Longfellow's house in Boston, the property in Provincetown later made famous by Alice Brock and Arlo Guthrie in Alice's Restaurant -- those pews were Adolphe's! He was connected to everyone famous from the Kennedys to Norman Lear.
Based in Boston as a Ballet Master, Artist, Activist, and Philanthropist, he was an ardent defender of the Arts, Diversity, and all things Acadian.
Known for his flamboyance and purple suits, Robicheau found himself at the center of major LGBT controversies in the 1940s. The idea that two gentleman would open a ballet school on Boston's most sacred street was met with months of protests and even a public hearing. It was Boston's defining "stonewall moment."
In 1949 he made headlines coast-to-coast when a group of teenagers rehearsing for a televised pageant revolted against his "Sissy" dance costumes and light minuet steps. The Sissy Revolt of the Annapolis Tercentenary was carried in headlines in over fifty major dailies. It was the defining moment of his career.
His museum, at 8312 Highway 1 in Meteghan, which he created in 1958 with lifetime partner Arthur Vaillancourt, is credited as being the most well preserved post-Grand Derangement structure in Canada.
Abandoned for over 20 years, volunteers are trying to save it. In 2023 they successfully got funding from the National Trust Canada.
La Vieille Masion official page.
From DanRobichaud1
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