Local Dancer Featured In Altman's Film "The Company"
Playing at the Anchorage Museum of History and Art Aug. 7-8
Sam Franke, 31, son of Gordon Franke of Anchorage, will be featured in the Robert Altman film "The Company" which will air at 6 p.m., Aug. 7 -8, at the Anchorage Museum of History and Art. The film provides a behind-the-scenes look at a well-known ballet company. Franke plays "Frankie," a member of Chicago's Joffrey Ballet in the film.
Franke was born and raised in Anchorage. His first television commercial appearance was in sixth grade when he dropped pizza on a rug for a J&S Steamway carpet-cleaning ad. Franke's dancing debut was as Seymour of Anchorage, the Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau's moose mascot, at age 13.
As a young child, Franke didn't aspire to be a dancer. "I like to say that dance found me," says Franke. Once introduced to the dance, he "did anything I could get my hands on." He was very involved with Youth Dance Spectrum and Alaska Dance Theater and performed in numerous local productions.
Franke spent his senior year of high school studying at the Virginia School of Arts (1990/91). He went on to the Houston Ballet Academy (1992-94), where he received a dance achievement award. He was with the Colorado Ballet (1994), the New York Theatre Ballet (1995), and Chicago's River North Jazz Dance Company (1995-96), before joining The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago in July 1996. He's performed as a singer and dancer in numerous musicals, including "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," "Godspell," "Anything Goes," and "Carmen," to name a few.
Franke left Chicago's Joffrey Ballet earlier this year and is currently in San Francisco performing with the national touring company for the Broadway stage show "Movin' Out," featuring a 30-year span of Billy Joel's music.
The film "The Company" premiered in Anchorage earlier this year, where it ran for one week. The Anchorage Museum of History and Art will run "The Company" for two shows only Aug. 7-8, at 6 p.m. as part of its Movies for Your Mind film program, showing the best in contemporary, classic and world cinema every Saturday and Sunday at 6 p.m. Tickets are $6 for general admission, $5 for seniors and $4 for Museum members. For more information on Movies for Your Mind films, call 343-6173.