The life of Frederick Franklin

Frederick Franklin, ballet dancer, director and coach, passed away at the beginning of May aged 98, an incredible loss to the dance world. British-born, Franklin was an early inspiration for choreographers such as George Balanchine and Agnes de Mille, and was a frequent stage partner of the renowned ballerina Alexandra Danilova, when he first met her, he recalled, she warned, "Young man, if your going to dance with me, you must learn where my curves are." And he did, forming one of the great partnerships of 20th-century ballet. Even after his dance career had diminished, Freddie, as he was known in the dance world continued to be an important force in the ballet community, serving as its living library and oral historian before the use of film and video, able to capture dance without having to rely so heavily on living sources to pass down dances, roles and choreography or notation systems such as Labanotation or Benesh Movement Notation. This is despite the fact that few of the dance world are adept at using these systems. Franklin, however, was particularly attentive to detail and had a fantastic, sharp memory which was paired with his extensive experience and knowledge of key choreographers and dancers. Franklin was born in 1914 in Liverpool, with his interest in dance and ballet starting early. British ballet was in its infancy, and Franklin was the only male in his dance class. He began his balletic career in the mid 1930s, working in the Markova-Dolin Ballet (run by Markova and Anton Dolin). 1938 saw Franklin rise to acclaim as a member of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and performing in the United States and Europe in addition to appearing in several Hollywood film shorts. Franklin went on to dance with many of the leading ballerinas of his era, including Alicia Markova, Maria Tallchief and Alicia Alonso, and his pairing with the Russian-born Danilova in the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo saw them become highly regarded in many classical story ballets such as Giselle and Coppelia. Franklin later became the company’s ballet master and also performed more than 45 principal roles with the group. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol7NQFmFGbI Franklin continued to perform in small parts with the American Ballet Theatre through recent years, a gold mine of repertory and particularly specific information with a photographic memory for dance steps. His focus shifted from performing to coaching and directing in his later years, yet he still appeared on stage. Of particular note is his ninth decade seeing his dancing character and pantomime roles in American Ballet Theatre’s Swan Lake, La Sylphide and Romeo and Juliet, among others. In 2011, Franklin received a Bessie Award for Lifetime Achievement, one of the dance world’s most prestigious prizes. Farewell Frederick "Freddie" Franklin.