COTILLION

Cotillion

The cotillion is a type of patterned social dance that originated in France in the 18th century. It was originally made up of four couples in a square formation, the forerunner of the quadrille; in the United States the square dance, where the "figures" are called aloud by the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, was one of many contredanses where the ...

The above text is a snippet from Wikipedia: Cotillion
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cotillion

Noun

  1. A bold dance performed in groups of eight where ladies lift their skirts to display their ankles
  2. The music regulating the cotillion.
  3. A coming-of-age party meant to present girls newly transitioned into womanhood to the community for courtship
  4. A kind of woollen material for women's skirts.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: cotillion
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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