APPRENTICESHIP AWARDS

2025-2026 APPRENTICESHIP AWARDS

ALEXANDRA CONOVER BENNETT:

NORTHWOODS PADDLE MAKING

APPRENTICES: ELLA REILICH GODINO AND LANDON SHEAFFER

Alexandra Conover Bennett is a renowned Maine guide, paddle maker, writer, and traditional musician. In 1980, she co-founded North Woods Ways, a wilderness and guiding center based in northern Maine.

Alexandra is best known for her beautifully crafted North Woods canoe paddles, each shaped by hand from a single plank of wood. Her work reflects decades of experience in the Maine woods and a lifelong commitment to traditional craft, nature, and teaching others the art of self-reliance and connection to place.

I am one of the paddle making apprentices that has been working with Alexandra Conover Bennett . Thank you for seeing the value in these traditional arts and helping to preserve them and pass them on to younger people like me! —Ella Reilich Godino, apprentice

ALLISON SMITH: CONTRA DANCER, CALLER, AND MUSICIAN

APPRENTICE: EVAN VIERA

Allison Smith is a gifted contra dance caller, dancer, and musician from Atkinson, Maine. Allison discovered her love of contra dancing as a teenager from Dudley Laufman, a master dancer and caller and National Heritage Fellow recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts. Since those early days, she has gone on to share the joy of dance, performing and calling throughout New England, inspiring dancers of all ages to take to the floor.

Contra dance is a vibrant social folk dance with dancers moving together in long, weaving lines. At the heart of every contra dance is the caller—the person who teaches the steps before the music begins, and then guides everyone through the dance, keeping the room moving in rhythm and in unison.

Allison Smith's deep love for the tradition is evident in her teaching apprentice, Evan Viera. Together they are helping to ensure that contra dance continues to thrive for generations to come.

Photo: Courtesy Allison Smith

APPHIA MPAY: CONGOLESE FASHION DESIGN AND SEWING

Apphia Kamanda Mpay, a talented seamstress and designer, is orginally from the Democratic Republic of Congo and now makes her home in Westbrook, Maine. For the Congolese people, fashion is a cultural statement and a powerful form of self-expression. Congolese design often blends European styles with traditional elements, showcasing specialized skills in tailoring, alterations, and creative design.

The lead sewing and tailoring instructor at the Westbrook Adult Education program, Apphia Kamanda Mpay runs her own home studio, where she designs and sews custom garments, does alterations, and transforms existing clothing into new, vibrant fashions. Her apprentices are Josiane Mutangana, Elyse Uwera and Ruth Bocolo.

BRIAN THERIAULT: TRADITIONAL SNOWSHOE MAKING

APPRENTICE: CODY THERIAULT

With over 40 years of experience in snowshoe making, Brian J. Theriault, along with his father, Edmond Theriault, have devoted their lives to keeping this traditional art alive.

As Brian describes it: “Being born in, and living all my life in Maine is something I’m very proud of. I am in Aroostook County, where I think snow was invented. At a young age, I wanted to play with snow, but getting around on top of the snow was a challenge. So, when my father Edmond, said, "let’s try making traditional snowshoes," I was excited. We learned along the way, teaching ourselves to make snowshoes.

Our snowshoes are one-of-a-kind pieces of usable art, and my father and I build them with love. At one time in Maine, there were many individuals, families, tribes, and companies that made traditional snowshoes. My father and I feel the strength of our traditions and our heritage in our work, and want the art of snowshoe making to be passed onto future generations.”

Photo: Courtesy Brian Theriault

Left to right: Ismael, Agnes, and Maurice

ISMAEL HATEGEKIMANA AND MAURICE HABIMFURA: TRADITIONAL RWANDAN DRUMMING

APPRENTICE: AGNES MUKAKALISA AND A RWANDAN STUDENT GROUP

Rwandan drumming is a cornerstone of cultural heritage, centered around the Ingoma drums—large, cowhide-covered instruments traditionally played by men to represent power and community unity.

Ismael Hategekimana is a traditional drummer and member of Ikirenga Cy’intore, a Rwandan dance troupe based in Portland. Centuries ago, the Intore, meaning ‘chosen ones,’ performed at the court of the Rwandan King. Today, Intore dancers and drummers continue the tradition by performing at Rwandan weddings, community celebrations and public events.

Maurice Habimfura is a traditional dancer, choreographer, drummer and founder of Ikirenga Cy’intore, a Rwandan dance troupe based in Portland. A passionate cultural advocate, Habimfura has also organized, produced, and performed at “Tales of Bells and Drums,” an annual showcase of performing artists from Portland’s Rwandan, Burundian and Guinean communities.

NAMES WITHHELD: PYSANKY AND TRADITIONAL SINGING

TWO APPRENTICES

Pysanky are intricately decorated Ukrainian Easter eggs. Using beeswax and dyes, the eggs are created by a written-wax method utilizing traditional motifs and designs. These beautiful eggs are made as symbols of renewal and exchanged during the Easter season as gifts of hope and blessings.

This award recipient is a recognized cultural advocate and traditional artist in Maine's Ukrainian community. She shares her culture by teaching a range of Ukrainian traditional arts, including pysanky, food ways, and folk singing. She teaches an inter-generational pysanky class for members of the Ukrainian community in Portland, as well as two apprentices.

SOKHOEUN SOK: CAMBODIAN TRADITIONAL DANCE

APPRENTICES: JULY KIM, ANGEL CHHOEUNG, THYDA KIMBALL, AND SARTA SAM

Born in Phnom Penh in 1979, Sokhoeun Sok’s love of dance began at an early age. As a child in Cambodia, she studied at one of the country’s leading dance schools, where her aunt was also an instructor. With over 36 years of experience in Cambodian dance, Sokhoeun has devoted her life to preserving and sharing this beautiful tradition.

Now living in Westbrook, Maine, Sokhoeun continues her aunt’s legacy by teaching Cambodian dance to new generations and is currently an instructor with Khmer Maine. She is widely recognized throughout Maine and New England as an exceptional dancer and teacher, respected for her artistry, generosity, and deep commitment to passing on traditional dance.

2024 APPRENTICESHIP AWARDS

RWANDAN DANCE & MUSIC

Clarissa Karasira is a singer, dancer and musician who recently moved to Maine from Rwanda. She grew up around music—her mother directed the church choir where her father served as pastor. Sharing her love of traditional African song performed in Kinyarwanda, Kiswahili and English with her two apprentices Phino Iradukunda and Phitson Ishimwe, Karasira’s apprenticeship will also focus on dancing.

As she describes it: “The traditional dances I perform are a living embodiment of our culture, a visual representation of our rituals, and a celebration of unity.”

Apprentice Phino Iradukunda (left) with Clarissa Karasira (right)

Photo: Courtesy Clarissa Karasira

SOMALI BANTU BASKETMAKING

Maryan Mohamed is a Somali Bantu basket maker who makes dambiilo, a type of traditional market basket. Maryann learned basketmaking from her family and is carrying on one of the oldest Somali Bantu traditions. She will be teaching apprentices Hawa Ibrahim, Habiba Salat and Abdirahman Dakane. Actively involved in the basketmaking program at the community center run by the Somali Bantu Community Association of Lewiston, Maryann Mohamed has helped ensure that new generations continue the tradition.

Somali Bantu Baskets

NORTH WOODS PADDLEMAKING

Alexandra Conover Bennett is a Maine guide, paddle maker, musician and writer. Along with Garrett Conover, she founded North Woods Ways in 1980, a northern woods wilderness and guiding center that is now part of the College of Atlantic. Based on Wabanaki design, Conover Bennett is known for her North Woods canoe paddles, fashioned from a single plank of wood – either ash, cherry or maple and will be teaching her apprentices Nate Knight, Jennifer Neptune (Penobscot) and Ella Reiheh Godino, ash and cherry paddle making with hand tools.

Alexandra Conover Bennett in her workshop

MALISEET BIRCH BARK BASKETRY

Aron Griffith (Maliseet) makes traditional Maliseet baskets and other artwork, all crafted with birch bark and ash wood. He will be teaching his apprentice, Chase Griffith, how to select and prepare birch bark and ash for baskets, as well braiding sweetgrass and lashing the sinew to add further style and texture. As a master birch bark basketmaker, Griffith hopes to pass on the traditional customs of his tribe while also creating a sustainable harvesting model for the future.

Birch Bark Basket by Aron Griffith

Photo: Courtesy of Artist

BOMBA MUSIC & DANCE

Brendaliz Cepeda is a Bomba Dancer, a tradition that has been passed down in her family for eight generations. Together with her husband, musician Saul Penalosa, they formed Bomba de Aqui, a dance and music company based in Massachusetts. Bomba is a traditional genre of music and dance in Borikén (Puerto Rico). Created by enslaved communities of African descent as a way to express themselves and sustain their culture, the instruments used in this tradition are the maracas, the cua (a small hollow drum played with sticks), and the barrel drums. Cepeda, with help from Penalosa, will be teaching Sayalí Robles, a South Portland based local Taíno community leader, the art of traditional Bomba.

Apprentice Sayalí Robles

Photo: Courtesy Brendaliz Cepeda

MEXICAN DANCE

Hermila Vargas is a traditional dancer who grew up in Mexico. As a child, Vargas learned traditional dance at an early age and went on to study at Bellas Artes University and Casa de la Cultura en Mexico. Focusing on dances from the Veracruz region, Vargas will be teaching her apprentices Kelly Cunae and Bisa Ortiz and will be performing for community events, including Mother’s Day celebrations, in Milbridge, Maine.

Apprentices Kelly Cunae and Bisa Ortiz

Photo: Courtesy Hermila Vargas

The apprenticeship program is generously supported by the

National Endowment for the Arts and the Maine Arts Commission.