Eric N. Franklin (born February 28, 1957) is a Swiss dancer, movement educator, university lecturer, writer and founder of the Franklin Method, a method that combines creative visualization, embodied anatomy, physical and mental exercises and educational skills.
He lives in Wetzikon, Switzerland.
Biography He earned his Bachelor of Science from the University of Zurich and his Bachelor of Fine Arts at the New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. After many experiences as a dancer and a choreographer, and Breakdance,Breakdance a dance book written with William Watkins in 1984, he has founded the Franklin-Method Institute in Uster, Switzerland.Prickelnde Körperbilder by Irene Sieben, Ballettanz magazine, May 2003, p. 72-75. ill.Franklin Method Institute He is a member of the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science. He has taught at the Zurich Neurological Institute,Zurich Neurological Institute the New York University, the Royal Ballet School,The Royal Ballet School the Royal Danish Ballet, the Ballet School of the Zurich Opera,Eric Franklin's choreography at the Zurich Opera in an article of Dorothea Kahr, Tanz und Gymnastik magazine, Jahrg. 57, Nr. 3 (2001), p. 42 the University of Vienna,University of Vienna the American Dance Festival. He has coached both world and European athletes that became champions, and Cirque du Soleil artistsCirque du Soleil in the Franklin Method.
The Franklin Method
The Franklin Method (in German, Franklin-Methode) was founded in 1994 and was originally for dancers. It was inspired by Mabel Elsworth Todd's ideokinesis, Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen's Body-Mind CenteringBody-Mind Centering and Sri Aurobindo's Integral Yoga. Extended from the dance field to every kind of human movement, this method combines dynamic science-based imagery, touch, anatomical embodiment, and educational skills. It was to create a sustainable positive change in body and mind using a range of simple tools like balls, theraband,Dance Specific Theraband Conditioning article by Eric Franklin, IADMS conference 2003, in Rudolf Nureyev Foundation Medical websiteThera-Band website and other daily life objects.
The Franklin Method activates body and mind function through the use of imagery, experiential anatomy and reconditioning movement to improve function.Young, Lynnette Overby, Ph.D. an Jan, Dunn, M.S.: Dance Imagery Research: Implications for Teachers. The IADMS Bulletin for Teachers, Volume 3, Number 2, 2011, S. 9 -11 The principal goals are how to obtain dynamic body alignment and how to move the body with maximum efficiency .Liberated bodies by Irene Sieben in Ballett international/Tanz aktuell English ed. Nov. 2000, p. 54-55 In every moment, the ideal combination of limbs, joints, gravity, moving parts, connective tissue, and muscles must be found and directed by the brain and nervous system by help of appropriate imagery.
Imagery promotes a neurogenic changement of muscular condition which allows immediate results, before any myogenic (muscle tissue) one. Connective tissue and inner organs are also directly stimulated, with touch and visualization, in order to change posture and to obtain an inner and outer balance. The exercises have a considerable impact on lowering structural stress, too.
The method is taught all over the world, including the Universities of Vienna, Cologne, Karlsruhe, The Boston Conservatory and the Juilliard School in New York City. It is recognized by the health providers in Switzerland and courses are regularly offered at Dance,New York New York What a Wonderful IADMS Conference by Rachel-Anne Rist, article in Dancing times magazine, Jan 2003, p. 41, 43International Association for Dance Medecine and Science 2010 Conference Pilates, Yoga and Physiotherapy conferences.26th and 27th Annual Symposium on medical problems of dancers and musicians - APAM (Performing Arts Medicine Association) 2007, 200818th Physiotherapy Symposium Lausannearticle on Franklin Method by Bettina Halbach, on PT magazine, sep 2011
Publications Eric Franklin is author of 18 books, mainly in the mind/body field, which have been written in GermanHundert Ideen fur Beweglichkeit Einfuhrung in die Ideokinese and English and translated into French,Le corps et l'énergie Italian,Visualizzazione e movimento, cento idee per correggere la postura, sciogliere le articolazioni e migliorare le prestazioni fisiche Spanish,Danza: acondicionamento fisico Czech,Czech translation of Relax your Neck, Liberate your Shoulders Dutch,Dutch translation of Pelvic Power Chinese,Chinese translation of Conditioning for Dance JapaneseJapanese translation of Pelvic Power and Korean.Korean translation of Conditioning for Dance
Here are mentioned the publications in English:
Dance Imagery for Technique and Performance,Dance Imagery for Technique and Performance Human Kinetics (1996)] Dynamic Alignment Through ImageryDynamic Alignment Through Imagery, Human Kinetics (1996) Relax Your Neck Liberate Your Shoulders,Relax Your Neck Liberate Your Shoulders Princeton Book Company (2002) Conditioning for DanceConditioning for Dance, Human Kinetics (2003) Pelvic Power,Pelvic Power Princeton Book Company (2003)Pelvic Power review Inner Focus Outer Strength,Inner Focus Outer Strength Elysian Editions (2006) Franklin Method Ball and Imagery Exercises for Relaxed and Flexible Shoulders, Neck and Thorax,Franklin Method Ball and Imagery Exercises for Relaxed and Flexible Shoulders, Neck and Thorax Orthopedic Physical Therapy Products (2008) Beautiful Body, Beautiful Mind,Beautiful Body, Beautiful Mind Princeton Book Company (2009) Happy Feet – Dynamic Base, Effortless Posture,Happy Feet – Dynamic Base, Effortless Posture Orthopedic Physical Therapy Products (2010)Rethinking warm-up exercises for the lower extremity for patients active life styles article by Tracey Vlahovic DPM on Podiatry Today, 2012 The Psoas – Integrating Your Inner Core,The Psoas – Integrating Your Inner Core Orthopedic Physical Therapy Products (2011)
Filmography The Franklin Method: Pelvic Power for Core Integration DVD (2010)
See also German Wikipedia article on Franklin Method German Wikipedia article on Eric Franklin Ideokinesis Psychomotor learning Sport psychology - Imagery section Mind-body intervention Body psychotherapy Dance science Neuroscience
External links
Bibliography and press
Review of Dynamic Alignment Through Imagery,Review of Dynamic Alignment Through Imagery Dance Research Journal, Autumn, 1997, vol. 29, no. 2, p. 105-108 Imagery Movement and the Dynamic Dance of Life,Imagery Movement and the Dynamic Dance of Life by Keith Eric Grant, 1998 Conditioning for Dance: Training for Peak Performance in all Dance Forms,Conditioning for Dance: Training for Peak Performance in all Dance Forms by Gigi Berardi, Journal of Dance Medicine & Science, April 2005 The mind/body connection and the practice of classical balletThe mind/body connection and the practice of classical ballet by Emma Dixon (née Burrows) in Research in Dance Education, Volume 6, Issue 1-2, 2005, pages 75–96 Teaching Modern Technique through Experiential AnatomyTeaching Modern Technique through Experiential Anatomy by Jennifer Salka, Journal of Dance Education, Volume 5, Issue 3, 2005, pages 97–102 Inner Focus Outer Strength: Using Imagery and Exercise for Strength, Health and BeautyInner Focus Outer Strength: Using Imagery and Exercise for Strength, Health and Beauty by Gigi Berardi, Journal of Dance Medicine & Science, Oct 2007 Book Review: Inner Focus Outer Strength: Using Imagery and Exercise for Health, Strength, and Beauty,Book Review: Inner Focus Outer Strength: Using Imagery and Exercise for Health, Strength, and Beauty by Glenna Batson, Journal of Dance Education, Volume 7, Issue 2, 2007 A brief history of somatic practices and dance: historical development of the field of somatic education and its relationship to danceA brief history of somatic practices and dance: historical development of the field of somatic education and its relationship to dance by Eddy, Martha, Journal of Dance and Somatic Practices, Volume 1, Number 1, 1 June 2009, pp. 5–27, Intellect Mindful Learning by Virginia Johnson, DanceTeacher Magazine, August 2007 Free Your Shoulders by Paul Fox, Spectrum, August 2007 Seeing Improvement by Virginia Johnson, Pointe Magazine, April 2007 Eric Franklin: transforming technique through science-based imagery by Rachel Straus, Dance Magazine, Jan, 2008 Franklin Method Images' Effects on Jumping,Franklin Method Images' Effects on Jumping by Theresa Heiland et al., Loyola Marymount University; College of Communication Studies & Fine Arts; Dance Program; Los Angeles, CA, USA, 2008. Imagery takes wing by Robin Westen, Pilates Style Magazine, December 2008 L'Approccio olistico al personal training, Personal Trainer Journal, January 2009, Italy Which images and image categories best support jump height? Heiland, T. Rovetti, R.In: Solomon R, Solomon J (eds): Abstracts of the 20th Annual Meeting of the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science 2010. Birmingham, UK: IADMS, 2010, pp. 74–75. The Franklin Method in the Pilates StudioThe Franklin Method in the Pilates Studio by Marguerite Ogle, About.com, December 2010, The Franklin Method: A Revolutionary Approach to Movement by Rosalind Gray Davis, Inner IDEA Fitness Journal, March 2010 Method Man by Robin Westen, Pilates Style Magazine, January 2010
References