We were lucky to catch up with Paulette Brockington recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Paulette thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your career and how did you resolve those issues?

As a dancer I was always drawn to ballet. And it seems that others felt I should pursue modern or contemporary or jazz or tap. I went all in and started my own group so I could do what I wanted. But funding, of course, depends on how others see you. When I got into swing dance I realized that it was a scarlet letter in the dance community. It was bad enough that I did musical theater but adding Ballroom then Lindy Hop to the mix was unforgiveable.

I would go to theater auditions and the director would point out that it was a “straight show” or at a musical theater audition “did I know there was no music?” But I dabbled in both of those worlds pretty successfully. But once I started doing social dance I decided I needed to keep that under wraps if I wanted to keep working. Because quite literally no one would book a social dancer. They are looked on as unprofessional. There’s a stigma that puts those dancers lowest on the totem pole in dance.

Of course, now it’s out of the bag and as much as I enjoy it I also enjoy creating contemporary ballet pieces. Most, and I should say virtually all dance professionals, think of it as an untrained niche. And there are some ballroom dancers who are over the top and hip hop dancers that struggle to exist outside of their ilk. But it is the rare performer that can cross lines rather than be relegated to just one style. However, many don’t believe you can be honest with your performances if you do too much. I disagree.

As a young dancer I found I was always working. I worked for like 6 years straight with no break until I decided not to work at working anymore. Friends were always looking for a gig in that one style and they spent a lot of time waiting tables and selling clothes. When I discovered the beauty in social dance I started to incorporate it into my concert work. People often resent success. So much so that they’ll try to destroy what you’ve accomplished.

I have built a swing scene or two or three. depending upon how to want to look at it. I created The American Lindy Hop Championships which became the template for Lindy Hop contests world wide. I would design a contest division or idea and others would run with it even, one even copying its logo. I’m sure people wonder why I keep doing it. I started the event to get the respect of other swing dance styles and survived the Lindy style wars.

My goal is now to reach past the ballroom filled with happy swing dancers. Now we need to get the creative juices flowing and stop be archivists. That’s a touchy subject for many who believe however it was done in 1935 is how we should do it now. But every dance is generational and includes innovations that get assimilated into the dance. Like the event, Lindy Hop is a template that needs to be customized after the tenets are learned. Unfortunately Lindy is the only dance style I know of wherein people will take a class or two and hang out a shingle to teach. I find that disrespect to the dance style.

Now, in addition to running my annual event, I run a Lindy Teacher Training Workshop Series teaching Lindy techniques and teaching plans that build a better teacher and therefore a better dancer and better dance scene.

Thinking about it one day I decided my overall question should be “What would Whitey do?” Meaning, would what you’re putting down pass the Herbert “Whitey” White test. You had to deliver creativity and showmanship and skill at an enviable level to be one of Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers. Lindy was the Hip Hop of the Swing Era. I refer to it as Swing Era Hip Hop because it needs rebranding for a new population so that it can be understood and appreciated.

There are literally millions of Lindy Hoppers worldwide. Instead of entertaining each other we need to start entertaining spectators around the world. I’ll see if I can swing it or a version of it. ALHC made it to 10 years. (I was surprised I made it.) Then it survived to 20 years and moved to its birthplace in Harlem. I do something innovative each year to keep the event fresh and growing. I’m watering it with ideas. This October is our 26th year.

Paulette, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I don’t like to toot my own horn. But is it better to be a “has-been” than a “never-was.”

I’ve worked with dance, theatre & opera companies. I am a former Arts Educator of the Year and Michigan Heritage Award Fellow. I am an active artist-in-residence & workshop teacher. My work has led me to Japan, the UK, Sweden, Germany, Norway & Canada.

I have been a member of and/or a guest artist with modern dance companies, ballet companies, acting companies and opera companies. I consider myself a versatile performer able to perform in a number of styles. I am an active artist-in-residence and workshop teacher, I have choreographed and performed, receiving honors/awards and grants for my work. I have dance works in the repertory of MixedBlood (Toronto), Ballethnic Dance Company (Atlanta) and House of Jit (Detroit).

I’ve had featured roles in a number of films but haven’t really work at getting parts in the last couple of years even though I keep my SAG-AFTRA membership current. I’m on hiatus from Actors Equity. The last 5 years or so I’ve concentrated mostly on the dance arena. I’m shocked when my agent calls me for something. So I am Artistic Director of Detroit’s A Company of Dancers. I have been on the faculties of WCCCD, Marygrove College and Michigan State University and a Master Teacher for the Traditional Arts Program.

The late Frankie Manning mentored me in Lindy Hop and other dances of the Swing Era. On the swing dance circuit I am a former World Fast Dance champion, World Swing Dance champion and Open Hustle champion. I direct the American Lindy Hop Championships. I coach & teach around the world. In April 2020 I designed an online app called Savoy Dance Bums to teach jazz dance steeped in steps from the 1920s through the 1960s. But prior to that I developed a Lindy curriculum while a Master Teacher for Michigan’s Traditional Arts Program. After almost 10 years I redeveloped it into the Lindy Teacher Training Bootcamp and now the Lindy Teacher Training Workshop Series which covers roughly 3000 steps. The goal is to fortify one’s Lindy vocabulary with consistent teaching principles and a clear understanding of Lindy’s place in society from the 1920s ’til today. In an effort to make my training series more universal and accessible I applied was and have been named a Fulbright Specialist available for education projects through World Learning in the US State Department until January 2025.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Now my mission is to train a group of dancers to successfully compete on one of television’s talent shows. I feel there’s still a level of respect that Lindy Hop hasn’t achieved . I would like people to stop thinking of it as cute. and start to see it as something substantive.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I definitely think that society needs to stop viewing dance as a hobby or something anyone can do or a stop-gap used until you find a job. It’s not for the unskilled or the dispassionate. Most cultures have dance rituals that people today take for granted. The arts need to be financially supported. And I know there’s a diversity issue that people have been clamoring about but as a Black woman I don’t want to be a token but I’m starting to see a whole lot of that today

Contact Info:

• Website: https://artspectrum.org/paulettebrockington.htm
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artspectrumahcacod
• Facebook: personal – https://www.facebook.com/paulette.brockington
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulette-brockington-10b8b9b/
• Twitter: personal – https://www.twittr.com/hoofer2
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/paulettebrockington
• Other: TikTok https://www.tiktok.compaulettebrockington Events pages https://www.youtube.com/americanlindychamps https://www.facebook.com/ALHCinfo https://www.twitter.com/ALHCLindyHop