Born in 1947, Phyllis Plotnick studied tap and toe as a child. She traces her love of ballroom — the subject of her collection — to dancing on her father’s feet and watching American Bandstand, which first aired from her hometown of Philadelphia when she was five years old. After high school, she completed a bachelor’s degree in physical education and certificate in physical therapy. In 1983, she moved to Gulfport, Florida, where she enrolled in a class in ballroom offered by a local community group. The class suffered from a perennial ballroom problem — more female than male students. To help out, Phyllis volunteered to lead. “And I liked it!”
If a woman could lead, a man could follow, she realized: Two women could tango, two men waltz. Switching leads and follows was implicitly political. Ballroom was, as well, great exercise, fun, and romantic. All in all, it seemed a perfect activity for the LGBT community. Inspired, Phyllis asked local ballroom teacher Eileen Ortiz to prepare her to teach lead and follow to LGBT students.
After Phyllis obtained North American Dance Teachers Association certification in 1991, she and then partner Cheryl Turner organized ballroom classes for the Tampa Bay LGBT community. A local United Church of Christ let them use a small room that served as a food pantry by day. The first classes were such a success that they soon required the large church community room where huge windows posed a problem: passers-by could see in. “People were afraid in those days,” Phyllis recalls. “It was a very different time. Teachers could be fired just for being lesbian or gay.” Cheryl and Phyllis purchased huge black tablecloths to cover the windows. It was their largest expense, but the tablecloths came in handy to mask windows in other venues as well.
Phyllis’ teaching approach focused on “partner connection, a dance’s history and style, the science and art of lead and follow, and the joy of movement shared.” As students gained skill and confidence, Phyllis proposed going out as a group to mainstream ballroom dance centers. At a pre-dance meeting, the group set protocols for the evening “out,” discussing attire, for example, and the etiquette of accepting or refusing a dance. Initially students were nervous about entering typically heterosexual venues but the outings went smoothly and led to a happy surprise: As straight women observed how adroitly the lesbians danced, they began to request a swing, tango, waltz, cha cha, merengue, rumba, or foxtrot.
On her former teacher’s advice, Phyllis continued to broaden her knowledge of dance by studying with additional instructors. The Phyllis Plotnick Collection includes clips from some of those sessions and exhibition dances with Arthur Murray teachers Sonja Ballin, Phyllis’ second teacher, and Mario Drobny.
In addition to the classes and outings, Phyllis and Cheryl also organized monthly themed dances for the LGBT community — for example, 50s Sock Hop, Dance in Denim, and a Holiday Benefit Ball. The dances raised money for the Breast Cancer Fund administered by the Womyn’s Energy Bank. In 1996, a board of directors formed to establish the Sonia Plotnick Health Fund (SPHF, www.sphf.org). Named for Phyllis’ mother who died of breast cancer, the volunteer organization holds an annual formal “Lady in Red Ball” to raise money for lesbians throughout the five-county Tampa Bay area who need financial assistance for non-traditional as well as traditional health care. (In earlier years, an annual Harvest of Hope Breast Cancer Benefit Ball documented in the collection performed the same mission.)
As time went on, students throughout Florida invited Phyllis to teach their communities of friends. She has also taught on an Olivia Cruise where she had the pleasure of dancing with Edie Windsor (and Edie, who loved a lesbian who could lead, had the pleasure of dancing with Phyllis).
The Phyllis Plotnick Collection consists of one dvd, “Dance Routines, 1993-1996” & one vhs tape, “Harvest of Hope Breast Cancer Benefit Ball, 1996.” Because these original source materials are made up of different events, and the VHS was taped over previously recorded tv shows, LHMP has pulled clips to illustrate special moments in Phyllis Plotnick’s career. Her teaching can also be viewed in LHMP’s Corky Culver Collection and Shari Strongheart’s Youtube videos.