Cotillion Recap

Hello!

Well, the kids had their last cotillion dance of the year, and it’s hard to believe we are in a season of “lasts’ for middle school. I received a couple of cotillion questions, and I thought it would be nice to have all the dances and memories in one post, so that’s what’s on tap for today.

The kids have friends and neighbors a couple of years older, so over the past few years, I’ve seen the cotillion pictures without really knowing what it is.

Every school submits names of interested 8th graders to the Lexington Cotillion Club coordinator who then sends invitations to those on the list. If you receive an invite, you of course don’t have to go…and that’s probably would have been Hayden’s preference. haha

There’s a total fee for cotillion dances whether you go to one dance or all four dances. Students receive an invite in the mail for every dance, and RSVP if they can’t come to that dance. There is a theme for every dance, and two of the dances are informal and the other two are more formal. For the formal dances, boys are supposed to wear ties, but can even wear suits or tuxes, and the girls are supposed to wear long dresses.

As you can see from the photos I share, the kids seem to follow the dress code loosely.

For each dance, the kids check in and get a name tag and dance card. The dance card has eight lines on it, and for five of the dances, there are names written in. Then, there are “girl’s choice,” boy’s choice,” and “everyone’s choice” written on the other lines.

Most of the time, the kids dance whenever they want, but there are eight dances on the dance card, and when those are announced, the girls are supposed to go to the part of the ballroom based on their last name, and the boy comes to find them to dance. Let’s just say that I think it’s pretty rare for that part of the dance etiquette to actually happen.

When I talk to others who went to cotillion five years ago or twenty years ago, it seems that this dance as always been at the same hotel and most of the kids socialize more than dance. haha

All of the dances are from 7:30 -10:30 which is such an odd time…and the hotel isn’t close to our house. We always carpooled which was nice, but after dropping kids off (and usually a pit-stop at McDonald’s for food and ice cream), it was 11:30 before everyone got home.

They have light snacks and punch for the kids and there are a few parent chaperones for each dance to help the club coordinator.

With cotillion, to my knowledge, there’s not really an etiquette class, but Lexington does have something called Halls School of Dance for 6th graders. Halls takes place once a week over a couple of months. It’s definitely more formal with girls wearing gloves and tights, and boys have to wear coat and tie. The kids learn different dances and etiquette and then there is a dance at the end where parents can come watch.

Halls is quite a Lexington tradition, but my kids didn’t participate when they in the 6th grade because it was on Thursday nights when Hadley had her competition dance classes, and I didn’t force Hayden to do it. Hadley really wanted to, and I would have let her if it was just a couple of weeks, but Halls was around eight sessions I think.

I’m guessing when Lexington Cotillion Club started, it was probably more formal than it is now.

Anyway, cotillion is something that I’m glad the kids did…even if one of my kids was more excited about it than the other.

Here’s a look back on cotillion season:

Harvest Moon:

The first dance was in October, and it was informal. That day, Hayden had the state cross country meet, and then he wanted to go to the UK football game, so only Hadley went.

She got together with friends to get ready, and I stopped by to see her before they left for the dance. They spent a couple of hours getting ready, had some snacks, and were a bundle of nerves when they left.

When Hadley got to the dance, she texted me that she didn’t know anyone on the dance card…which I replied, “That’s the point!” haha

Of all the dances, I know this one was the most awkward as the kids got the “lay of the land” and figured out how cotillion worked. Overall, she had lots of fun.

Glitter and Gold Gala:

This was the first “formal” of the dances. Hayden had a cross country meet in Louisville that day, so we were gone for most of the day.

Once we got home, I took Hadley to get her hair trimmed, and she got it curled too.

The kids let me snap a quick pic that I ended up using last minute as our Christmas card.

Then, we met at a friend’s house to hang out a bit while the girls finished getting ready. Then, we carpooled to dinner. Since this was a more “formal” dance and we knew many of the kids would be busier in the spring with baseball, soccer, etc., we went ahead and reserved a room at a nearby restaurant for the kids to hang out and eat beforehand. There were about 30 kids.

The parents hung out too until it was time for the kids to go to the dance.

It was nice hanging out with parents for a bit during a busy holiday season.

Overall, the kids had a great time, but they seemed to stay pretty much with their friend groups.

Malibu Mingle:

The February cotillion theme was “Malibu Mingle.” The boys took the less formal theme and ran with it …wearing shorts and Hawaiian shirts.

My friend picked up Hayden and took him and her son to meet up with the rest of the boys for dinner.

Again, the girls met at a friend’s house to finish getting ready together while the moms had some appetizers and a glass of wine.

They added leis to their outfits for the Hawaiian/Malibu theme.

This dance, the kids really seemed to branch out from their friend groups. Hadley gave me all the details when they got home…but mostly about new kids that they met from nearby schools.

Belles and Bowties:

This past Saturday was the fourth and final cotillion dance. This time, the girls got ready at our house. I got a few snacks for them to eat while they got ready.

Like the December dance, we reserved a room at the same restaurant for the kids to eat before the dance.

Before we left, I quickly got a couple of pics of the kids. Hadley’s dress was my favorite one she wore from all four dances.

My mom got some individual pics of them which I appreciated.

The girls…so pretty in their spring colored dresses.

Friends for life.

A group pic before we left, and then a girl group and whole group photo at the restaurant. The boys are tough to wrangle!

After the kids went to the dance, the moms hung out for a bit for a drink and some appetizers.

When the kids got home around 11:00, Hadley filled me in that it was the most fun dance. It seemed like they got lots of pictures with friends that they’d made from other schools and some of their dance partners. Sounds like Hayden even had a good time 😉

While Hadley was into the cotillion activities more than Hayden, he did make the most of it and had fun. I know they will remember their cotillion experience, and this has been a fun 8th grade tradition for them.

May will be a busy month for us as they wrap up their 8th grade track season, have an 8th grade dance and 8th grade promotion. The middle school years have flown by!