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Dancing through the 20th century

By The World ⋅ March 5, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment
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Frederic FranklinThe World’s Alex Gallafent introduces us to ballet dancer Frederic Franklin. At 95 years old, he’s still performing on stage. Franklin got his big break in Paris, back in the 1930s. He later went on to star in the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo before making his home in the United States. Franklin tells his own story on today’s show. (Photo courtesy of Frederic Franklin / Maurice Seymour)


Music heard in this story:

1. Faust, Ballet Music: V. Les Troyennes (Moderato con moto)
Composer: Charles Gounod
Performer: Berliner Philharmoniker & Herbert von Karajan
CD: Famous Ballet Music / DGG 2894594452 (disc one, track 22)

2. Suite from “The Firebird” (1919 version): Introduction
Composer: Igor Stravinsky
Performer: London Symphony Orchestra & Leonard Bernstein
CD: Bernstein Century: Stravinsky / Sony B00000C29B (track 14)

3. Voulez-Vous de la Canne à Sucre?
Performer: Josephine Baker
CD: The Very Best of Josephine Baker / Master Classics Records 884385492953 (track 42)

4. Coppélia, Suite: I. Prélude – Mazurka
Composer: Léo Delibes
Performer: Berliner Philharmoniker & Herbert von Karajan
CD: Famous Ballet Music / DGG 2894594452 (disc 2, track 1)

5. Fox Movietone Follies of 1929: Medley
Performer: The Brunswick Salon Orchestra

Discussion

5 comments for “Dancing through the 20th century”

  • joan

    I have loved this dancer since I first saw him when I was a little girl over 60 years ago. He was always so beutiful and so gracious when I asked him for his autograph outside the Boston Opera House after a performance of the Ballets Russe. I saw him many times, even in the stage play “Song of Norway” dancing to Freddie and His Fiddle. Thank you for this piece on one of the world’s best dancers….ever!

  • Jake

    Talk about stage presence, even at 95! Mr. Franklin is a national treasure. Thank you for this excellent report.

  • sue

    I grew up in Detroit during the forties and fifties. My parents took my sisters and me to the beautiful Masonic Temple many times to see the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. I remember seeing all the dancers that were mentioned on your program and also watching Leonide Massine in our favorite movie, The Red Shoes. It is wonderful to know that Mr. Franklin is still dancing in his nineties. I have just turned 70 and want to go back and take tap dancing again. I love to be active and I participate in several sports. If you don’t move it you lose it. What a wonderful program it was and so interesting to hear Mr Franklin’s journey. Thank You.

  • Robert Dickinson

    I enjoyed this conversation and thought a man 95 with a strong voice at his age and will still go and dance things most people never could is amazing,, I listen to the world every night comeing home from Toronto in my big truck, I live in North Bay Ontario ,, Canada

  • Alex Gallafent

    Thanks for all your comments. Mr Franklin was, as you might expect from hearing him speak, an absolute delight to interview.