Cotillion figures demonstrated in the Festsaal, Hofburg, Vienna, in 2008
The Cotillion is a type of patterned social dance that originated in France in the 1700s and was originally made up of four couples in a square formation, the forerunner of the quadrille; in the United States the square dance, where the "figures" are called alound by the caller, is a form of rural contredanse that also descended from the urban cotillion. Its name, from French cotillon, "petticoat", reflected the flash of petticoats as the changing partners turned. The Cotillion, of repeated "figures" interspersed with "changes" of different figures to different music,[1] was one of many contredanses ("country dances") where the gathered participants were able to introduce themselves and to flirt with other dancers through the exchange of partners within the formation network of the dance. By the 1800s, the Cotillion evolved to include more couples with many complex dance figures.
In British usage, cotillion has disappeared, save in French or historical contexts.[2] Cotillions were introduced in London about 1766[3] by French dancing masters. They came to America in about 1772.
A "German cotillion", in contemporary accounts, was reintroduced to New York society at a costume ball with a Louis XV theme given by Mrs William Colford Schermerhorn in the early winter of 1854.[4]
In the United States, Cotillion has become training that children and young adults attend to learn manners and proper social behavior in the context of formal dance. The participants dress in formal attire and some cotillions emphasize the use of white gloves. Modern day American Cotillion takes the form of classes and parties. These programs use dance as an interactive tool that breaks down inhibitions and teaches important social skills. Some of the ballroom dances currently taught include waltz, fox trot, tango, swing, and cha cha. "Cotillion parties" are typically "graduation" parties usually held after a series of classes. At the party, the students sit together in tables in the front while the family members sit in tables in the back. A master of ceremonies guides the evening and, if funds are sufficient, dinner and an orchestra may be included. Usually after each dance, a couple may be recognized with a modest prize for best executing that dance.
In American usage, a Cotillion is a formal ball, often the venue for presenting debutantes.
Some notable debutante balls in the United States
- Phoenix:
- Board of Visitors Ball (formerly St. Lukes Ball)
- Scottsdale Honors Cotillion
- Phoenix Honors Cotillion
- Desert Foundation Auxiliary (DFA) Ball (http://www.dfaaz.org/)
- Brophy/Xavier Cotillion
A souvenir recording released by Verve Records in the summer of 1959 featuring longtime San Francisco bandleader Ernie Heckscher playing for The Cotillion at The Fairmont. The cover photo models are some of the previous winter's debutantes and their escorts
- Jacksonville
- The Magnolia Ball
- Commodore's Ball
- Lakeland
- Lakeland Assemblies Cotillion Club
- Orlando
- The Bridgadette Club Inc.
- Sarasota
- Sarasota Cotillion Club
- Sarasota Debutante Ball
- Detroit:
- UESA Detroit Chapter Debutante Ball.
- White Rose Ball (Hungarian Arts Club)founded in 1958.
- Lansing:
- New York City:
- The Junior Assemblies, a collection of debutante balls held annually which comprise the traditional "debutante season" of New York society
- The Viennese Opera Ball in New York
- The Quadrille Ball
- Le Bal des Berceaux ("The Cradle Ball") is New York's Spring débutante ball and benefits needy children in the U.S. and France.
- The Northeastern Conference Coronation
- The Infirmary Ball, officially called the "Debutante Cotillion and Christmas Ball," which benefits the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary
- The International Debutante Ball, held each even-numbered year
- The Thanksgiving Eve Ball, held each year, benefits the charitable activities of the New York Junior League
- The Paas Ball, held each year
- The Annual Debutante Ball and Reception, held each year by the Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of New York
- The Debutante Cotillion of the Kosciuszko Foundation Annual Dinner
- Rochester, New York
- The Bachelors' Cotillion, a white tie ball at The Genesee Valley Club held since 1902. Gentleman aged 22-35 are selected by a committee from prominent families in the community. It is one of few "Gentlemans" balls in the country.
- The Lilac Ball, held each spring, debuts around 30 young ladies from the community aged between 18-20. Held in conjunction with the city's famous Lilac Festival, it benefits local hospitals.
- Philadelphia:
- The Assembly of Philadelphia (dating from 1748), an elite private party held annually around Christmas. Private membership and guests attend. Cotillon is danced.
- The Philadelphia Charity Ball (founded 1884), a debutante ball held at Thanksgiving every year for Philadelphian families, drawing mostly on prep school graduates. Proceeds go to charities selected by the previous year's debutantes.
- Pittsburgh:
- The Cinderella Ball, the 'second oldest debutante ball' in the country, founded in 1926.
- The Medallion Ball, named for the medallion each debutante receives from the city's Catholic bishop
- Dallas:
- Idlewild Club (1884), Terpsichorean Club (1898), & Calyx Club (1911) Balls
- Dallas Symphony Orchestra League Presentation Ball
- La Fiesta de las Seis Banderas
- University of Dallas Winter Cotillion
- Fort Worth:
- The Assembly Ball
- Steeplechase Ball
- Ambassador Ball
- Fort Worth Assembly Ball
- Hispanic Debutante Ball
- Houston:
- Allegro Ball
- Houston Country Club Thanksgiving Ball
- The Assembly Ball
- Bolero Ball
- River Oaks Country Club Debutante Ball
- Lunar Rendezvous Coronation Ball
- San Antonio:
- Order of the Alamo
- San Antonio German Club
- Tyler:
- Beaumont
- Lynchburg:
- McLean:
- Norfolk:
- The German, held each Thanksgiving by the Norfolk German Club
- Portsmouth:
- The Thanksgiving Debutante Dinner-Dance, held each Thanksgiving by the Portsmouth Assembly
- Richmond:
- The Bal Du Bois
- The Richmond German
- Staunton:
- The Spinsters Club of Staunton
Notes
- ^ "Quadrilles and Cotillions": informed musicologists exchange posts.
- ^ OED, s.v. "Cotillion".
- ^ Its first use in English is from 1766, according to OED; the conclusion of the Seven Years' War in 1763 ceased hostilities between France and Britain, inaugurating a renewed wave of French fashions in Britain.
- ^ Lloyd R. Morris, Incredible New York: Life and Low Life of Last Hundred Years 1979:17-19
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
External links
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