The Place to Be Tonight: Frederic Franklin Dances Through Time

Frederic Franklin and the founder and producer of Works & Process, Mary Sharp Cronson

If you think recollections of the past decade were interesting, wait until you hear from Frederic Franklin, 95, who is speaking tonight at the Works & Process series at the Guggenheim. His career as a ballet dancer began in 1931, when at age 17, he arrived in London from Liverpool and got a place in a tap dancing troupe going to Paris. His partner was Josephine Baker. From 1938 to 1952, he was premier danseur with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Beyond dancing, he has deployed his remarkable memory, musicality, and good humor to make works he originated on contemporary dancers, from Giselle at ballet companies across the country to Creole Giselle, an adaptation for the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Mr. Franklin will share the anecdotes of a "good old dancer," as he calls himself. The evening also features performances by dancers from American Ballet Theatre II, ABT, and ABT's school, who worked with Mr. Franklin on these excerpts. At the first run of this engagement last night, attended by Damian Woetzel, Heather Watts, Susan Baker, and Adam Flatto, among others, a highlight was Mr. Franklin's tale of first performing the Bluebird Pas de Deux -- followed by a spirited, lovely performance of it by Jinho Won and Shu Kinouchi. Tonight at 7 p.m. at the Guggenheim. Box office 212-423-3587.