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The cotillion (also cotillon or French country dance) is a
(‘cotte’) and the diminutive suffix .
There are two etymological theories as to how "underskirt" became a dance's name:
* The dance "revealed the underskirt".
* It is from the lyrics of a song that accompanied the dance: (‘My friend, when I dance, does my petticoat show? r: does my petticoat move well?��).
In 18th-century French, the dance was also known as , meaning "French country dance" or "French contradance".
The cotillion (also cotillon or French country dance) is a social dance
Social dances are dances that have social functions and context. Social dances are intended for participation rather than Concert dance, performance. They are often danced merely to socialise and for entertainment, though they may have Ceremoni ...
, popular in 18th-century Europe and North America. Originally for four couples in square formation, it was a courtly version of an English country dance, the forerunner of the quadrille
The quadrille is a dance that was fashionable in late 18th- and 19th-century Europe and its colonies. The quadrille consists of a chain of four to six ''Contra dance, contredanses''. Latterly the quadrille was frequently danced to a medley of ope ...
and, in the United States, the square dance
A square dance is a dance for four couples, or eight dancers in total, arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, facing the middle of the square. Square dances are part of a broad spectrum of dances known by various names: country dan ...
.
It was for some fifty years regarded as an ideal finale to a ball but was eclipsed in the early 19th century by the ''quadrille''. It became so elaborate that it was sometimes presented as a concert dance
Concert dance (also known as performance dance or theatre dance in the United Kingdom) is dance performed for an audience. It is frequently performed in a theatre setting, though this is not a requirement, and it is usually choreographed and perf ...
performed by trained and rehearsed dancers. The later "German" cotillion included more couples as well as plays and games.
Names
The English word ' is a variation of the French (which does not have ''i'' in the last syllable). In English, it is pronounced or ; but in French, it is . The French word originally meant "petticoat
A petticoat or underskirt is an article of clothing, a type of undergarment worn under a skirt or a dress. Its precise meaning varies over centuries and between countries.
According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', in current British E ...
(underskirt)" and is derived from Old French
Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...
(‘cotte’) and the diminutive">cotte">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...History
The name ''cotillion'' appears to have been in use as a dance-name at the beginning of the 18th century but, though it was only ever identified as a sort ofcountry dance
A country dance is any of a very large number of social dances of a type that originated in England in the British Isles; it is the repeated execution of a predefined sequence of figures, carefully designed to fit a fixed length of music, perfo ...
, it is impossible to say of what it consisted at that early date.Scholes, P., ''The Oxford Companion to Music'', O.U.P. 1970, article; ''Cotillion''.
As we first encounter it, it consists of a main "figure" that varied from dance to dance and was interspersed with "changes" – a number of different figures that broke out of the square formation, often decided spontaneously by the leading couple or by a caller or "conductor". Each of these was designed to fit a tune of eight or occasionally sixteen measures of 2/4 time. Participants exchanged partners within the formation network of the dance. "Changes" included the "Great Ring", a simple circle dance
Circle dance, or chain dance, is a style of social dance done in a circle, semicircle or a curved line to musical accompaniment, such as rhythm instruments and singing, and is a type of dance where anyone can join in without the need of Partne ...
with which the dance often began, as well as smaller Ladies' and Gentlemen's rings, top and bottom and sides rings, and chains. Other changes included the , and . A complete dance composed of a prescribed order of these was called a "set".
The cotillion was introduced into England by 1766 and to the United States in about 1772. In England from that time onwards there are a large number of references stressing its universal popularity in the best and highest circles of society, and many teaching manuals were published to help recall the vast number of changes that were invented. There is a reference in Robert Burns
Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...
's 1790 poem '' Tam o' Shanter'' to the "cotillion brent-new frae France" (brand new from France).
Dancing masters differed as to the exact way of doing these dances: some, recognising the affair as an English country dance, taught that the steps and jumps of these were appropriate, while others insisted upon French elegance, recommending the basic step of the gavotte
The gavotte (also gavot, gavote, or gavotta) is a French dance, taking its name from a folk dance of the Gavot, the people of the Gap, Hautes-Alpes, Pays de Gap region of Dauphiné in the southeast of France, where the dance originated, accordin ...
or the minuet
A minuet (; also spelled menuet) is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually written in time. The English word was adapted from the Italian ''minuetto'' and the French ''menuet''.
The term also describes the musical form tha ...
. In reality many participants simply walked through the figure and changes, seeing these as the dance and the exact steps as dispensable. On the other hand, some figures required high skill at social dancing and many performances took place at which the majority preferred to watch rather than dance.
The quadrille
The quadrille is a dance that was fashionable in late 18th- and 19th-century Europe and its colonies. The quadrille consists of a chain of four to six ''Contra dance, contredanses''. Latterly the quadrille was frequently danced to a medley of ope ...
gained fame a few years later as a variety of cotillion that could be danced by only two couples. In London in 1786 Longman & Broderip's ''6th book of Twenty Four New Cotillions'' brings together for the first time the most characteristic dance-figures of the quadrille: (‘trousers’), (‘summer’), (‘the beautiful hen’) and . However, while the cotillion kept all the dancers in almost perpetual motion, the quadrille often allowed rest to half of the participants while the other half danced.
In the 1790s, the cotillion was falling from favour, but it re-emerged in a new style in the early years of the next century, with fewer and fewer changes, making it barely distinguishable from the newly-emerging ''quadrille'', which was introduced into English high society by Lady Jersey in 1816 and by 1820 had eclipsed the cotillion, though it was recognisably a very similar dance, particularly as it also began to be danced by four couples. References to the English cotillion dances persist here and there until the 1840s, but these were more games than fashionable dances, and were often danced to the waltz
The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...
or the mazurka.
L. P. Hartley's 1931 ghost story '' The Cotillon'' is centred around a masked cotillion at a country house.
United States
In theUnited States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, however, the opposite was true: quadrilles were termed cotillions until the 1840s, when it was realised that all the distinctive figures of the earlier dance had been taken up into the newer. The German cotillion was introduced to New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
society at a costume ball with a Louis XV theme given by William Colford Schermerhorn in the early winter of 1854. Here, too, waltzes, mazurkas, fun, games and boisterous behaviour at private parties took on a more important role, and only some figures of the earlier dances survived. Finally the term cotillion was used to refer to the ball itself and the cotillion and quadrille became the square dance
A square dance is a dance for four couples, or eight dancers in total, arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, facing the middle of the square. Square dances are part of a broad spectrum of dances known by various names: country dan ...
.
See also
*Debutante ball
A debutante, also spelled débutante ( ; from , ), or deb is a young woman of aristocratic or upper-class family background who has reached maturity and is presented to society at a formal "debut" ( , ; ) or possibly debutante ball. Original ...
* Philippine debut
References
External links
{{Subject bar, auto=1 , commons=y , wikt=y Social dance