Book excerpt: With a ballet career spanning well over eight decades, legendary dancer Frederic Franklin was one of the twentieth century's great ballet stars. This biography, rich with original interviews, covers his entire career from young dance student in the early 1920s to his most recent position as choreographer with Britain's Royal Ballet in November 2004. Each chapter covers a different period of Franklin's life, including the peak of his performing career as a principal dancer with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, his legendary professional partnership with Alexandra Danilova, and his role in introducing ballet to millions of Americans during World War II.