Happy, healthy, confident, optimal & expressive in dance: Franklin Method® for all dancers
“Think differently, move better...You get better at what you do, including thoughts, images and emotions” Eric Franklin
Tell me more about Franklin Method® in Dance
Franklin Method® is a system created by my teacher, Eric Franklin. It is cutting edge within the movement world and is highly respected and its knowledge sought after. It is used by elite dance companies and schools such as the Royal Ballet School, Laban and the Juilliard School to maximise performance outcomes for their dancers. You may even have one of Eric’s books on your shelf or in the dance section of your library, the most famous dancer books being: Conditioning for Dance or Dance Imagery for Technique and Performance although there are a lot more than these two! Franklin Method® has many scientific papers published proving its efficacy within dance, which you’ll find me discussing on my blogs or social media from time to time. You can discover more about what I teach to dancers through my Wellness Wednesday that was published for One DanceUK and Franklin Method® which you can find on their website or in my Journal too!
How can the Franklin Method® help dancers?
Optimise a whole array of skills you need: performance, technique, conditioning or developing the mental skills needed to become the best dancer you can be.
Work with your body efficiently, in an anatomically and biomechanically correct way. When you do that you will find that you optimise your body, you’ll become more flexible, powerful and learn how to use your body in such an intelligent way. Taking a journey beyond bone or muscle we can harness multiple systems in your body using our system of imagery coupled with scientific understanding to create healthy, comfortable, powerful expressive movement.
Franklin Method® can help with expressivity in dance, offering dancers ways to use imagery in a codified and intelligent way to develop as artists. It can also help dancers who are often overworked and stressed out wind down and get rest in a healthy way, as well as lessen anxiety and worry.
Healthy Dancers Last Longer: putting your wellbeing at the centre. Working with Dance UK as a Dance Healthcare Practitioner
I am passionate about the health and wellbeing of dancers and I want to share with you how Franklin Method® can really support you in your dancing life as well as your life as a whole. It is a holistic system and I love watching dancers really enjoy discovering aspects of their bodies they were not aware of or find new and creative ways to move - it really is part of my personal teaching mission and brings me great joy!
Becoming a Dance UK Healthcare Practitioner gives you added reassurance that on top of being regulated by the International Somatic Movement Therapy Association (ISMETA) that my work is regulated by the Dance sector of the UK. I adhere to Codes of Conduct, and have proven qualifications, verification and references from dancers about the work I have carried out for them!
You can find out more from my journal
The Pelvis: Such a key place for dancers to embody because of its role in force transmission and absorption. Higher jumps, softer landings, greater alignment and greater comfort in the lower backs well as less wear and tear on your body are all found by developing your embodiment of the pelvis.
Tell me why you teach Franklin Method® to dancers
Happy, healthy and more confident in dance - my mission for dancers harnessing the power of the Franklin Method®
I’ve had my own journey with dance as a dancer and ballet teacher and then as a remedial specialist I have worked with dancers of every age range within rehabilitative Pilates Studios. The injuries I have witnessed dancers endure from every generation are often the result of moving in a way that was detrimental to their physical health, reducing or ending their dancing life and in some cases leaving them with problems beyond dancing.
My Franklin Method® for dancers focuses on changing that and working with dancers before they get those issues or problems (although I can help there too!) and helping them become really happy, more confident and the best they can be.
I’ve been teaching Franklin Method® with a dance specific focus since 2018 working from Danceworks in London, on livestream across the world and back to the ballet school in person! I have taught and continue to teach professional dancers privately across the world who are either currently in performance or developing their own work in the somatic sphere. Franklin Method® is integral to all of the work I do and is taught in its own right as well as part of my programming for injury prevention and Pilates at FABRIC, the Centre for Advanced Training for Contemporary Dance in Birmingham. You don’t have to be an elite dancer or dancer in training though, and it doesn’t matter what level of dance you are at, you are now able to experience the same system. As I work in person as well as on livestream I can help dancers from across a wide range of areas access something that would be harder to reach in the past.
Why come and work with me? What my dancers say…
“If you’re hypermobile and / or a dancer keeping your body healthy through movement is crucial. But, understanding movement is essential... Sarah’s Franklin Method® classes are mind blowing and I can’t recommend them enough”
— L.R. Nutritionist with Specialisms in Dancer Health and Hypermobility
“Sarah is a wonderful teacher. Endlessly knowledgeable by conveys complex ideas in a straightforward way. My mind is calm and my body can do things I never thought possible... get in touch if you want to move beautifully but without the strain”
— C.W. Social Dancer
“I have been practising Franklin Method® now for several weeks in class and at home. I have found it has helped my dancing so much, and this week my dance teacher has remarked how much longer my legs look. It really helped me in ballet class while I was at Danceworks”
— R.D. Choreographer and Professional Dancer
Work with me online or in person - contact me directly or sign up for my dancer newsletter below
Work with 1:1 or in class in person in Birmingham, UK
Work with me in my regular Franklin Method® Masterclasses and Immersive Workshops on person and online
There is my Franklin Method® Fridays Masterclass class - my original class from Danceworks now on livestream open to members of the public.
I have Franklin Method Workshops and Masterclasses - you can find which ones are currently running by visiting the events page and subscribing to my newsletter.
You can make a booking by going to my studio.
Enhance your offering online for your dancers or dance curriculum with the Franklin Method®
Recent projects:
I have been working with a small company of professional contemporary dancers and developed with them a programme that was pure experiential work - helping them develop their own creativity, and I have also been working with ballet schools and groups on more technical ways the Franklin Method® can help their dancers improve things such as turnout, plié, jump height and landing as well as look at issues such as injury prevention.
Drop me an email and I can arrange call to help you discover how I can help you and your dancers.
“I love how she invites me to be curious about my own body: about how it feels in the moment and how it might be possible to increase physical ease and peace of mind. Her enthusiasm and passion for sharing her knowledge of anatomy, coupled with her deep experiential understanding of the subtle rhythms of the body result in engaging classes; while her creativity in explaining these ideas and capacity to bring them into an embodied experience make the learning experientially-informed”.
— S.C. Dance Psychotherapist
“Dancing is just discovery, discovery, discovery - what it all means”
Martha Graham