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1906 - 1978
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