TitleInterview with Frederic Franklin, Part 1 of 7: April 30 and May 1, 1979
NamesFranklin, Frederic, 1914-2013 (Interviewee)Conway, Peter, 1929 July 18- (Interviewer)
CollectionDance Oral History Project
Dates / OriginDate Created: 1979-04-30Date Created: 1979-05-01
Library locationsJerome Robbins Dance DivisionShelf locator: *MGZTO 5-1095
TopicsDanilova, Alexandra, 1907-1997Dolin, Anton, 1904-1983De Valois, Ninette, 1898-2001Markova, Alicia, Dame, 1910-2004Lloyd, Maude, 1908-Toye, Wendy, 1917-2010Massine, Leonide, 1896-1979Lifar, Serge, 1905-1986Franklin, Frederic, 1914-2013 -- InterviewsBallet Russe de Monte CarloSadler's Wells BalletVic-Wells BalletMarkova-Dolin Ballet CompanyBallets russes du Col. W. de BasilBallet -- Great Britain
GenresOral historiesInterviews
NotesAdditional physical form: For transcript of interview see *MGZMT 5-1095.Source note: Interview with Frederic Franklin conducted by Peter Conway for the Jerome Robbins Dance Division Oral History Project at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, on April 30 and May 1, 1979. Part 2 (May 7 and 8, 1979), Part 3 (May 11 and 18, 1979), Part 4 (October 24 and 25, 1979), Part 5 (October 9, 12, and 22, 1981), Part 6 (October 22, 23 and 27, 1981), and Part 7 (November 3 and 5, 1981) are cataloged separately.Bibliographic history: Title supplied by cataloger.Source characteristics: Sound quality is fair. The recording is marred by mild distortion and occasional extraneous noise, but the speakers' voices are easily audible.Venue: Recorded by Peter Conway for The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts April 30 and May 1, 1979 New York (N.Y.)Funding: The conservation and cataloging of this recording was made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. The support of the National Endowment for the Arts is also gratefully acknowledged.
Physical DescriptionAudiotape reelExtent: 1 audiotape reel (approximately 3 hr., 12 min.); polyester; half-track; 1.875 ips; 5 in.
DescriptionStreaming audio file 1, April 30, 1979 (approximately one hour and 37 minutes). Frederic Franklin speaks with Peter Conway about his childhood and early training; his decision to pursue dancing as a career; performing at the Casino de Paris including his impressions of Josephine Baker; performing with Mistinguett; returning to London and dancing with Wendy Toye; his teachers including Lydia Sokolova and Nicholas Legat; joining the Markova-Dolin Ballet Company as a soloist and understudy for Anton Dolin; partnering Alicia Markova; the "gallery boys" and "gallery girls"; learning by observing; developing his individual style; his rapport with the audience; the circumstances of his joining the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo; more on the Markova-Dolin Ballet Company including some of his roles and the repertoire; Alicia Alonso; (very briefly) Stanilas Idzikowski; Ninette de Valois, including anecdotes; Lydia Kyasht; the 1933 play Ballerina including his impressions of Birgitta Hardwig [Vera Zorina]; Vera Nemchinova; Leonide Massine including his role in Franklin's career; more on Dolin including his coaching of Franklin; his refusal to dance alongside of Franklin.
Streaming audio file 2, May 1, 1979 (approximately one hour and 35 minutes). Frederic Franklin speaks with Peter Conway about the ballet world in England around 1938 including his memories of Ninette de Valois as a dancer; the rivalries among the Vic-Wells Ballet [later the Sadler's Wells Ballet and now the Royal Ballet], the Markova-Dolin Ballet, and the De Basil company [Ballets russes du Col. W. de Basil]; more on De Valois, including as a choreographer and as a person; his impressions of Tamara Karsavina, and Adeline Genée; others active in the English ballet world at the time including Pearl Argyle; joining the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in its first year; Serge Lifar including his relationship with Leonide Massine; a performance anecdote about Lifar and Alicia Markova; Massine including his advice and encouragement and his giving him George Zoritch's roles; his ability to learn roles very quickly and his musicality; Alexandra Danilova and their relationship, including numerous anecdotes, and her rivalry with Nina Tarnikova; other dancers in the company including Maude Lloyd and Harold Turner; Alicia Markova including her relationship with Anton Dolin; touring with Wendy Toye and Dolin in a road show, including anecdotes; the educational value of performing in this kind of show.
Type of ResourceSound recording
LanguagesEnglish
IdentifiersRLIN/OCLC: 80241861NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b12118943Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): af25a7e0-c7d2-0135-c2af-1deccdc04226
Rights StatementThe New York Public Library holds or manages the copyright(s) in this item. If you need information about reusing this item, please go to: http://nypl.org/permissions
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