I improvise, I score, I fail, I score again, I usually laugh, there is a small chance I cry, and in that case, I have tissues.

I am a drama queen, sad clown, lover girl, and the silliest guy in the room at all times.

I am fascinated by (in no particular order) obstacle course TV game shows, Nina Simone Live at Montreux (1976), birds, outer space, puppets, and romance.

I make dance because I must (even when it is difficult).

I am committed to creating original dance work characterized by emphatic virtuosity and refined world-building, supported by a creative process rooted in an ethic of care and dignity.

Thank you for being here.

Laila J. Franklin is a multidisciplinary dance artist based in Massachusett and Pawtucket land | Boston, Massachusetts, by way of Nocotchotank and Piscataway land | Washington, DC.

She is interested in meta-commentary, deconstruction, and bits, approaching themes surrounding the human experience with nuance, curiosity, physical rigor, 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 presented by Public Space One (IA), Loculus Collective Sideways Door II Festival (MA), School of Contemporary Dance and Thought (MA), and Movement Research at The Judson Church (NY), and commissioned by Brown University (RI), the Boston Conservatory at Berklee (MA), and Salem State University (MA). She has been the recipient of a Boston Center for the Arts' Run of the Mills Residency (2022), Dancemakers Laboratory Residency (2022/2023), and Boston Dancemakers Residency (2023/2024). She was featured in Dance Magazine as one of their 2024 "25 to Watch" and in Art New England Magazine as a 2023 Emerging Artist. 

While completing her master's degree, Laila received an Iowa Arts Fellowship (2019-2021), and post-grad, she served as a Dance/USA Archiving and Preservation Fellow (2023) to Jennifer Harge/HargeDanceStories in Detroit, MI, and continues to contribute to her archival research. She also currently serves as a dramaturg for detritus dance (MA) and an archival research assistant to Stew Stewart at Harvard University.

As a performer, Laila’s credits include projects with Miguel Gutierrez, Dr. Christopher-Rasheem McMillan, Melinda Jean Myers, Stephanie Miracle, Ruckus Dance (MA), and detritus dance (MA),. While an undergraduate student, Laila had the opportunity to perform as a featured dancer in works by Keith Thompson, Aszure Barton, and Mark Morris.

Laila has been working as a teaching artist since 2018. She has taught community class series in the Greater Boston Area, most prominently with Midday Movement Series and VLA Dance. She has served as a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Iowa and was a Visiting Lecturer in Music and Dance at Salem State University (MA). Expanding on her work in education, she also serves as a consultant and collaborator for social justice education projects and programming for Midday Movement Series.

Laila holds a Master of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of Iowa, a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Contemporary Dance Performance from The Boston Conservatory, and she is a proud almuna of the dance department of Duke Ellington School of the Arts (DC), under the direction of Charles Augins. She has completed additional training through the Trinity Laban Conservatoire (LDN), the Lion's Jaw Dance and Performance Festival (MA), Movement Research (NY), The Field Center (VT), and the Bates Dance Festival (ME).

When Laila is not making dances, she is making coffee. When she is not making coffee, she is hanging out with her cat, Roberta Blondell.