Laila J. Franklin

Laila J. Franklin is a multidisciplinary dance artist based in Boston, MA. Her work is interested in meta-commentary, deconstruction, and bits, approaching themes surrounding the human experience with complexity, nuance, curiosity, and humor. Her work extends from lineages of traditional and experimental Black, queer dance makers, with a particular interest in the collision of postmodernist creation frameworks and story ballet. Laila’s work has been commissioned by Brown University and Boston Conservatory at Berklee, and presented through Public Space One, Loculus Collective’s Sideways Door Festival, School of Contemporary Dance and Thought, and Movement Research at The Judson Church. Her credits as a performer include projects with Miguel Gutierrez, Ruckus Dance, and Melinda Jean Myers. She was recently featured as one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” of 2024. Laila holds an MFA from the University of Iowa, a BFA from The Boston Conservatory, and is a proud alumna of Duke Ellington School of the Arts.