Associate Professor of Dance Leslie Norton spoke at Jacob's Pillow, Mass., on July 14 about her new book, Frederic Franklin: A Biography of the Ballet Star, which has just been released by McFarland & Co., Inc. Franklin, one of the greatest ballet dancers of the twentieth century, joined Norton for the talk, which is part of the festival's "Pillow Talk" series. Jacob's Pillow hosts an internationally renowned dance festival each summer, presenting the works of some of the world's finest dance companies, dancers and choreographers.
Franklin's performing career reached its peak from 1938-57, when he was principal dancer with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. When he retired from performing, he devoted his life to the preservation of historically important ballets by George Balanchine, Agnes de Mille, Sir Frederick Ashton and other legends who created original roles especially for Franklin in their choreographic works. Franklin has restaged seminal classics for American Ballet Theatre, La Scala in Milan, the Royal Ballet in London, and numerous major regional ballet companies throughout the U.S. Today -- at the age of 93 -- he still dances principal roles for American Ballet Theatre and was recently awarded a Commander of the British Empire medal by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. In writing the book, Norton conducted more than 60 hours of taped interviews with Franklin and his most noteworthy colleagues.
Franklin's performing career reached its peak from 1938-57, when he was principal dancer with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. When he retired from performing, he devoted his life to the preservation of historically important ballets by George Balanchine, Agnes de Mille, Sir Frederick Ashton and other legends who created original roles especially for Franklin in their choreographic works. Franklin has restaged seminal classics for American Ballet Theatre, La Scala in Milan, the Royal Ballet in London, and numerous major regional ballet companies throughout the U.S. Today -- at the age of 93 -- he still dances principal roles for American Ballet Theatre and was recently awarded a Commander of the British Empire medal by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. In writing the book, Norton conducted more than 60 hours of taped interviews with Franklin and his most noteworthy colleagues.
