Frederic Franklin Remembers
From your first class, when you had to remember how many pliés and tendues you had to do at the barre, you developed your memory. Eventually, you learned to remember long combinations, then entire choreographic works. But there is probably not a ballet in which Frederic Franklin danced, during his long career, that he doesn't remember choreographically....and everyone's role as well. Franklin's memory at the age of 92 is a long one. He still performs, walks a lot for exercise and is a cheerful and dapper guest at every lecture, gathering or performance.
In recent seasons, his commanding presence has been seen in small roles for American Ballet Theatre productions of "Swan Lake," "Romeo and Juliet," and "Petrouchka." He has restaged dances for ABT's "Prince Igor," as well. For his recent staging at School of American Ballet, he went back in memory to recreate the czardas from "Raymonda" (Balanchine/Danilova version, 1946). The restoration for the SAB students was a project of Nancy Reynolds, Director of Research for The George Balanchine Foundation. The Foundation's mission is to recover as much as possible of Balanchine's works.
"I like modern dance, too," Franklin remarked. "In '48, I heard of Martha Graham by reading the "Dancing Times," and newspaper accounts. I saw her in "Every Soul is a Circus," and was floored by this lady as a personality and as a dancer. She was a theater-lady. I followed her career as well as other modern dancers of the time. I remember that at our school in Liverpool--Elliott-Clarke--we had a teacher come from Germany each summer to teach us what we didn't know, then, was modern dance. We had ethnic dance classes as well, so when I got to London and Paris, I had had good training in various forms of dance." Later, Franklin studied with Lydia Kyasht, Egorova and Nicholas Legato....legends.
"You know, there are times on stage when artists, while perfectly still, can create their own individual, unforgettable moments. I remember Markova (Alicia) in "Dying Swan," when she appeared on stage from the darkness, and ended with her arms folded and the curtain came down. There was silence. But, earlier artists had more opportunity to be still on stage and to cultivate that connection with the audience on a deep level. Today, movements are so athletic there seems to be no time for stillness, with all the emphasis on technique and choreography. Only a few can create a character."
"When I walk out on stage and there is no one else there," Franklin continues, "and I'm alone, I love every minute. Shura (Danilova) used to say, 'You know Freddie, you are theatrical rust, just like me. We know where the light is and you like it and we know where the dark is and we go away.'
"Massine, Balanchine, Markova and Dolin were the biggest influences on me. If I wasn't in their ballets, I was in the wings and never missed a performance." Franklin danced with the Markova-Dolin company (1935-7), Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo (1938) and several other companies. He created memorable roles in Massine and Ashton works as well as de Mille's "Rodeo" in 1942.
"I was not raised in the hothouse of an opera house, but danced in music halls and cabarets all over England. There was a lot to learn from such a beginning, so when I met Massine, Balanchine and Danilova, it was a theatrical revelation. I never forgot anything they did and drank it all in. Today, dancers go from the studio into a company, while we had to do whatever was around as a job. It was a better experience."
How does he remember choreography that he saw many years ago? "I don't really know," he says, "at times, it's the music that reminds me, or at times, it's just the steps. There are blanks, but as I go along, they are filled in. I think it is a combination of music, visual memory and muscle memory when I try the steps. Somehow, my body remembers as well as my mind.