the.com/cotillion
finishing school's debutante boot camp, where teenagers learn to waltz before they can legally vote.
means A formal ball, often one where young people are introduced to society, or a lively patterned group dance led by a caller.
from From French cotillon, literally "petticoat" — a diminutive of cotte, "coat" or "tunic." The dance got its name from the flash of underskirt seen as women turned and kicked through its figures; the word later climbed up from the petticoat to name the whole grand ball. Cotte itself traces back to a Germanic root for a garment, a distant cousin of English "coat."
- french root
- means petticoat, named for skirts flashing during dances
- original form
- started as 18th-century group dance, not a ball
- glove rules
- white gloves traditionally hide nervous, sweaty teenage palms
- southern stronghold
- still thrives across the American South today
- strict protocol
- escorts bow, debutantes curtsy, mistakes get judged
for instance
cotillion ball of philadelphia — prestigious annual event in pennsylvania dating to the 1700s, one of america's oldest continuous social traditions