George Marc Indich

We mourn the loss of George Marc Indich and tribute him for to a life well lived. George was born in Canton, Ohio at Mercy Hospital to his parents George of Serbian heritage and Alba Rose Raimondi Indich of Italian heritage on June 29, 1950. As a young child his family moved to New Haven, Connecticut where George grew up as a child into a young man. “Marc” as he preferred to be called over the years grew up in a inner city environment where his father and mother raised the Indich family with his sister Vanessa, and brothers Stevie and Albano. The family would venture back to Ohio to the family farms with his beloved grandma “Baba” and grandpa and visit his aunts , uncles and cousins. Having grown up in in an tough industrial and mostly Italian city neighborhood environment, Marc struggled in school during his later childhood years. He’d sit steering out of the classroom window and daydream of something greater in his future. He was a different type of person who knew he didn’t fit into yet he regular norm. As a young boy, Marc had the natural ability to perform and especially developed an interest in dance. Everyone recognized his talent and especially noticed by a woman who owned a local dance school “ Miss Linda’s School of Dance” in New Haven, CT. She took young George into he classes and provided a full scholarship, since that family couldn’t afford to pay for his classes. He was an eager and motivated child protégé as he learned to dance in perfect form and leap through the air effortlessly. One of his early recitals was to perform a series of Spanish dances depicted below. Marc had dreamed of being a performer but especially his greatest passion which was classical ballet. He received a three year scholarship at the Connecticut Ballet a remarkable achievement where he left his high school classes every day and worked hard dancing from 1:30 until 8:30 weekdays each evening. His talent was being recognized and earned him scholarships in New York City with some of the best ballet companies. He had tough teachers trained in the European style. He recalled getting struck by a stick by his teacher once to correct his hand and feet positions while dancing that forced him to push even harder. He was now ready to audition for the major ballet companies and a disciplined way of life. He went to Boston to see the performance of Giselle that took his breath. The next day he contacted the company to set up an audition at once. He waited to hear if he would be accepted. At that time he was performing in Romeo and Juliet in New Haven at the the Yale University Theater when he received the call from Virginia E Williams, the artistic director of the Boston Ballet. She was considered at that time to be the best teacher of classical ballet in more than 50 years. She told him that he had two weeks to be in Boston and that he received a scholarship and that he would be an understudy to the company dancers. The last day of school he saw his guidance counselor and he told him he’d always knew he’d quit school and that all of his brains were in his feet. All of his teachers were sad but they understood that george had a special gift. So off to Boston he went with only 85 dollars in his pocket. He had to find a place to live and a job to support himself. He pursued his dream and wouldn’t have traded it for anything else in the world. He got excited by the people he met and the places that he had seen. He even had danced for the Kennedy family. Marc’s education background and training included 8 years scholarship at the New Haven Ballet. He danced professionally with the New Haven Ballet, the Boston Ballet from 1969-1972. Studied 3 year scholarship under the direction of Virginia E. Williams. He danced and studied at the Connecticut Ballet on scholarship, 1976-1979. He danced and studied at the Hartford Ballet for a year then went onto the Don Farnworth School of Dance in NY where he studied both ballet and Jazz Dance under the direction of the dance masters of the Netherlands, Holland. He had a two year scholarship at the Harkness School of Ballet, New York, NY for two summers. Marc also studied under the direction of Ramon Sagara ( soloist with the American Ballet Theatre). His credits include: Boston Ballet “Nutcracker” New Haven Ballet “ Romeo & Juliet”, “ Brahm’s Waltzes” and “Don Quixote” Connecticut Ballet “ Sleeping Beauty” Touring Company and musical theatre for the shows West Side Story, South Pacific, Oklahoma, Cabaret, Fiddler on the Roof national touring companies. He even danced with artist entertainer Judy Carne who appeared later on the TV Show “ Laugh-In”. Another talent of Marc’s was to train and master beauty school where he learned to cut, specialize in color and style at various institutions such as Vidal Sassoon in London, Paul Mitchell in NYC, Wilfred Academy, NYC and the Elm Hamden Beauty School in Hamden, CT. He worked at many high end salons in Massachusetts, Saks Fifth Ave in Owings Mills, Baltimore, Maryland. Meier & Frank, Portland, Oregon and Gina’s Hair Design in Beaverton, Oregon. He once worked in famous Newberry Street in Boston where one of clients was Joan Kennedy. When Marc wrote this story, he had one regret and that was to have the chance to teach ballet to young students. However his dream did come true when he opened his very own” Indich’s School of Classical Ballet” on Willamette Falls Drive in West Lin, Oregon 1990-1991 where he taught ballet to students 5 thru adult beginners. He also taught prior at Marilee’s Dance School in Oregon City 1989-1990. Marc relocated to Portland, Oregon in 1988 and retired many years later after moving from West Lin back to Portland. Marc had many passions like baking the most decadent desserts such as Chocolate cake, making Italian food, bake Yugoslavian nut roll, he learned to sew as he made many of his own shirts, loved crafts and learned to knit. He would often cook and bake for days only to share the bounty with his friends and people in his apartment building where he lived. He spent so many years alone on holidays that sharing food and inviting people especially during the holidays made holidays meaningful for him as he gave to others. Marc’s other passion were his two beloved dogs Sergio and Sophia, both Jack Russel Terriers. They loved their daddy for many years as they became part of the Park Blocks community in Portland. Marc socialized regularly and met many mutual dog owners that became friends through this later years. George Marc Indich has touched many life’s and left us with a large void since he has passed. We’ll miss his radiant smile, his creativity, his delicious deserts, his artistic gifted talent and his passion for life. Rest In Peace George “Marc”. We will miss you. • There will be a memorial service celebration held in George’s honor. A future announcement will be posted. To be held in Portland, Oregon.