The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo was more than a celebrated dance company. It was a travelling world of artists, costumes, rehearsals, rivalries, friendships, exhaustion, glamour, and constant movement. Frederic Franklin lived at the centre of that world, and his memoir preserves what it felt like from inside the company.
By the time Franklin joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, he had already built a strong professional foundation. What followed placed him alongside some of the most important dancers and choreographers of the twentieth century. He performed with Alicia Markova, Alexandra Danilova, Yvette Chauviré, and other major figures, while choreographers such as Léonide Massine, George Balanchine, Agnes de Mille, Michel Fokine, and Bronislava Nijinska created or shaped work around dancers of his generation.
Franklin remembered the company not simply through performances, but through the daily realities surrounding them. Rehearsals could be demanding and unpredictable. Touring schedules left little time for rest. Costumes travelled in trunks from city to city, sometimes with barely enough time to be cleaned before the next performance. Dancers crossed borders, boarded ships and trains, adjusted to unfamiliar theatres, and still had to appear before audiences with the confidence expected of international stars.
The outbreak of war made that life even more uncertain. Travel became difficult, schedules were disrupted, and the company faced serious questions about where it could perform and whether engagements would proceed. Franklin recalled arriving in New York under demanding circumstances and having to perform despite fatigue, physical strain, and limited preparation.
Yet the Ballet Russe was also filled with moments of pleasure and companionship. Franklin remembered Monte Carlo as a place of beaches, Mediterranean sailing, artistic gatherings, and encounters with people from European society and the cultural world. Parties could last late into the night, while rehearsals and performances resumed soon afterward.
These contrasts give Frederic Franklin: An Early Memoir of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and His Career its particular appeal. The book does not present ballet only from the audience’s view. It takes readers into dressing rooms, rehearsals, journeys, backstage conversations, professional uncertainties, and friendships that rarely appear in formal histories.
Developed with Jeannette Roughton, Franklin’s dresser, secretary, assistant, and longtime friend, the memoir carries the immediacy of someone who knew the company from close range.
For readers interested in ballet, theatre, cultural history, or the people behind famous performances, Franklin’s recollections offer access to a world that has largely disappeared. The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo may belong to history, but in these pages, its people, places, and performances remain vividly present.
Read the book on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0idlHsyy
