They wear coats and ties, party dresses and white gloves and they learn manners. It is a tradition that is not gone with the wind.
The concept dates back to 18th century France and was the event at which young women were presented to society. Some things have changed but at the Virginia Cotillion, some things have remained the same.
“We started the Virginia Cotillion about 11 years ago because we felt that the previous cotillion was not reaching out to a broad spectrum of young people in our community,” said Amy Alberson, one of the co-founders of the Virginia Cotillion. “In those days, only children who went to private school attended. We wanted to change that.”
And they did. Now, each year, fifth, sixth and seventh grade boys and girls from 12 different schools attend eight one-and-a-half hour sessions between September and March. “Our goal is to teach them to greet and have a polite conversation with each other and to perform basic ballroom dance steps and all of the current line dances,” Alberson said.
Parents who have sent their children are satisfied. “I am a northerner so this was a very new concept to me,” said Colleen Goldstein. “My daughter Hillary, is the only one of us who was born in Virginia. She showed an interest in attending cotillion so we let her do it. I was very pleased.”
Hillary was pleased as well. “I learned to waltz, do the Foxtrot and the Twist,” she said. “I really liked it a lot.”
Hillary, like her friend Grace Fenstermaker, is a sixth-grader at Waynewood Elementary School. “I thought it was okay but it was kind of weird,” Grace said. “I did learn to dance and I guess I will use that at my prom, maybe. My favorite part was car-pooling with my friends.”
Cherie Carroll has sent both of her sons to the Virginia Cotillion. “It just gives them an opportunity to learn some basic social skills, to dance and to begin to feel comfortable with people of the opposite sex,” she said. “I really think it has been good for the boys.”
Her son, Tommy, agreed. “I really liked it,” he said. “The Grand March was kind of interesting. We had to get into lines and the boys had to introduce themselves to the girls and then dance. After that, we got the girls refreshments and sat down,” Tommy said. They didn’t have to sit with the girls, though. They could talk with their own friends.
Graduation from cotillion came in the form of a performance on March 9, at Belle Haven Country Club, where parents got to observe what their children learned. “I thought it was really good,” said Deane Fenstermaker. “I plan to send my other two children when they are old enough.”
The cost to participate in the cotillion is $230. “We think it is very reasonable because the young people learn things that they can use throughout their lives and hopefully, they will meet people who they might not have met,” Alberson said. “My daughters all attended and still see people that they remember from their time at cotillion.”