What is a « cotillion » ?

The article of today is a peculiar one. It begins with a question that you will answer. Focus, the answer is not as simple as it seems.

Are you ready?

‘What is a cotillion?’

To help you, here are the suggested answers:

A cotillion is :

• A piece of clothing ;
• A French slang word for a woman;
• A dance;
• A cardboard party accessory in France;
• A dance party in the USA.

Have you made your choice? Are you sure of your answer?

Is this your last word?

In this article, I’m going to take you behind the scenes of the cotillion. From the peasant women of the 18th century to the elegant ladies of the following century, from the revolutionary feminists to today’s party-goers, everyone knows the ‘cotillion’. But are they all talking about the same thing?

Being a French native speaker, I write in English as good as I can. Please let me know if you sot any error. thank you!

You answered (A) An item of clothing

You have answered correctly!

The cotillion is a type of petticoat that appeared in the 17th century. More precisely, it’s an underskirt, worn over a petticoat (and under a skirt, as you might have guessed).

The term is mainly associated with peasant women. The cotillon is still an essential part of Provençal costume.

But it’s not only a piece of clothing…

You have answered (B) A slang word for woman

You’ve answered correctly!

By metonymy, the word ‘cotillon’ refers not only to a petticoat, but also to its owner. Cotillon therefore means ‘woman’, in particular ‘woman-object’ or ‘easy woman’.

In 1861, Emile Gaboriau published Les cotillons célèbres. The book looks at royal mistresses in French history. By his own admission, the title was ‘un peu vert’ (a bit bitter). Classy…

Women though did not hesitate to adopt the nickname ‘cotillon’. In 1848, the Vésuviennes, a group of radical feminists, published the first issue of La République des femmes. Journal des cotillons. (The republic of women. Newspapers of the cotillions). The front page featured the movement’s anthem, written by Louise de Chaumont: La Marseillaise des cotillons, in a surprising alliance of the French revolutionary anthem and the mean nickname.

You answered (C) A dance

You’ve answered correctly!

Honestly, on a blog dedicated to historical dance, you shouldn’t be too surprised.

The cotillion dance

The cotillion – the garment – is featured in a famous French song from the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries:

This aria was already a popular success when it was published.

You can listen to the tune of the song here, performed by the late Claude Flagel and the ‘Faux-bourdon’ ensemble … The French children of today knows another set of lyrics:

Popular song under the Second Empire

On this ditty are transposed the steps of an old 17th-century brawl, which was enjoying a second lease of life. This dance, with an unknown title, would henceforth be called ‘cotillon’, in reference to its song.

This dance for four dancers is very simple. It alternates between a chorus and six different verses. The steps used are typical of French Baroque dance: the gavotte step and the demi-contretemps (skip).

A few clues suggest that the dance is (much) older. The tune for this cotillon had already been published forty years earlier under the title ‘La Moutarde’ (1662). Some even make the connection with the branle ‘La Montarde’, published by Thoinot Arbeau in 1588.

However, due to the lack of sources for 17th-century “petites danses”, it is not possible to investigate this further.

This successful dance was quickly imitated (Cotillon Nouveau, Cotillon de Suresne). Sometimes with four dancers, sometimes with eight, but always alternating verse and chorus.

The cotillon genre

From a successful dance, the cotillon became a genre of French country dance, contredanse à la française. By the middle of the 18th century, the terms ‘cotillon’ and ‘contredanse française’ were synonymous.

The French contredanse / cotillon gradually took shape.

Four couples, arranged in a square, took part. There are nine figures or verses, called in French ‘entrées’ or ‘syncopes’, and in English ‘changes’. Those changes alternate with a refrain specific to each contredanse. The changes are :

• Le grand rond (the large circle, 16 bars): holding hands, the eight dancers circle to the right and to the left;
• La main (the hand): in pairs, half of a right-hand turn, followed by a rigaudon (rigadoon) step facing each other. The left hand is used again;
• Les deux mains (both hands): as in the previous figure, giving both hands to each other each time.
• Moulinet des dames (Ladies hands across): the four ladies give each other their right hands and turn. Same with the left hand to get back to place.
• Moulinet des hommes  (Men hands across): the same figure performed by the men.
• Rond des dames (Ladies’ circle): the four ladies hold hands and turn to the left and then to the right.
• Rond des hommes (Men’s circle): the same figure performed by the men.
• L’allemande (the German one): in allemande position, the couples do a half-turn, then a rigaudon facing each other. Reprise in reverse position (left shoulder to left shoulder).
• Le grand rond (again).

From cotillion to quadrille

At the dawn of the 19th century, the cotillion underwent a major transformation. Dancers tired of repeating the same refrain nine times in a row.

Ingenious dancing masters came up with the concept of “pot-pourri de contredanses’, country dances medleys. They contains the chorus of nine different country dances, one for each change.

This meant that hits from previous seasons could be reused without tiring the dancers. But it also demands more effort from the dancers. Imagine, this means that no figure is repeated: you have to memorize and link up the nine different dances, by hart.

The potpourris soon gave way to the quadrille. The audience, in turn, grew weary of the changes. In the quadrille, there are no more entrances, and only five refrains, taken from different contredanses: le Pantalon, l’Eté, La Poule…

Cotillions and quadrilles continue to coexist, however. Thomas Wilson writes:

« [The quadrille] only differs from the well-known dance, the Cotillon, by leaving out the changes »

Thomas Wilson, The Quadrille and Cotillion Panorama, R. & E. Williamson, Londres, 1822 (2e éd.)

In France, the term ‘cotillon’ disappeared completely, to be replaced by the word ‘quadrille (de contredanse)’. In English-speaking countries, however, the word ‘cotill(i)on’ has long been used as a synonym for ‘quadrille’.

But that’s not all!

The other cotillion genre

Around 1820, a new kind of cotillion arrived on dance floors. It probably originated in Germany.

By this time, the word ‘cotillon’ had become obsolete in French. Nobody would confuse the new ‘cotillon’ with the old country dance of the previous century.

In the English-speaking world, it’s a different story, since ‘cotillon’ and ‘quadrille’ are used to designate the same dance. This is why, in English, we speak of German cotillion, Polka cotillion or Waltz cotillion to clearly mark the difference between the two dances.

The first person to tell us about the new cotillion in France was Edmé Collinet. I’ll let him do the talking:

Edmé Collinet, Le Cotillon. Danse nouvelle avec douze figures variées et chorégraphie (…), Chez Collinet, Paris, c.1823, p. 2.

The cotillon is a series of games interspersed with waltz (or later polka and mazurka) passages.

These days, we’d call them ‘party games’. Almost all of these games involve a change of partner, which sometimes creates friction. The games may or may not involve objects – I’ll come back to that later. There is often a comic effect, at the expense of a (male) dancer.

An example of cotillion figure: La Trompeuse (the cheat)

The man pretends to invite a lady. But when she holds out her arms, he moves away. This is repeated several times, with several ladies. Finally, the man chooses a lady for good and does a waltz with her. The man then escorts the lady back to her seat, bows to her and returns to his seat.

Let me reassure everyone: this figure is followed by ‘Le rendu’ (the give back), where the female dancers can return the favour to the male dancers. Gender equality is respected!

Some figures require props. Everyday objects are used: a chair, a hat, a deck of cards, etc. In short, anything you can easily find at a ball.

An example of a figure with a prop: Les Cartes (the Cards)

Queens and Kings are taken apart from a pack of playing cards. The leading lady deals the kings to four men, while her partner deals the queens to four ladies. Couples are formed according to card suits. When the couples have finished dancing, each hands his card to another dancer, and four new couples are formed.

The twelfth and final figure in Collinet is Les adieux (the Farewells).

The Men do a waltz turn with their partner on the right, then with the next lady, and so on, until they find their original partner. Then each couple goes to pay their compliments to the hosts of the evening – always to music.

The cotillion is the ‘usual’ end to the ball, so it’s a good time to thank the organisers.

We know that the end of the evening is also the ideal time to give guests a ‘favour’, a small gift or souvenir of the evening.

What are the differences between the square cotillion and the waltz cotillion?

I think I’d be quicker if I listed the similarities, which are virtually non-existent. The differences are as follows:

• No limit to the number of couples present: they form a circle or semi-circle around the room;
• No pre-defined roles (e.g. couple 1), apart from the leading man and his partner;
• Different steps: the 19th-century cotillion consisted of a waltz, polka or mazurka. The three dances could be mixed to diversify the dance. The cotillon of the previous century used the gavotte and contretemps de gavotte steps;
• Different music: the old cotillon has a gavotte rhythm (2/4 or 4/4), while the new cotillon is danced to a waltz (3/4), mazurka (3/4) or polka (2/4);
• A different principle: in the old cotillon, everyone has to know their place and the figures in advance. In the new cotillion, the leading man chooses the figures as he pleases, while the other couples simply follow his recommendations.

This was clearly a new dance, with nothing in common with the 18th-century cotillion.

You answered (D) A cardboard party accessory

You have answered correctly!

Cotillion dancers (from the 19th century) often used props. At first, these were objects we all had at home: a cushion, a sheet, a money coin.

Choreographers and dance publishers became increasingly inventive with their figures. They created cotillion accessories that were used exclusively for this dance. Dancers could then keep this accessory as a souvenir.

Example of a figure with a special prop : Les drapeaux (the flags).

Eugène Clément, Manuel du Cotillon. Nouvelle édition, Ouachée, Paris, c.1895

Example of a figure with a special prop: Les Confetti.

Henri de Soria fils, Le Cotillon. Théorie complète, Enoch et Cie, Paris, 1899.

The birth of specialist shops

Obviously, these accessories are not so easy to find. What’s more, the figures (and their accessories) had to be varied regularly, otherwise the audience would get bored (dancers getting bored is a recurring theme in this article).

This is how specialist companies came into being. These companies offer all the accessories you need to perform the latest fashionable cotillion figures.

Cotillion manuals often contain advertisements for these companies. Not bad marketing!

For example, Clément’s manual is obviously sponsored by the shop ‘Au paradis des enfants’ (at the children’s heaven). The book is full of advertising! There are satin banners, hoops, walking sticks and even paper flags of all nations, sold by the dozen. You could even choose between silk and woollen flags!

The shop also sold cotillion souvenirs (given away at the end of the ball), disguises (‘accessories for cross-dressing’), musical instruments (tambourines and mirlitons), ball books, various table games (roulette, cards, etc.) and all the decorations you can imagine.

That’s how the colourful cardboard party accessories are called “cotillons” in French. They have been a hit at every dance party for over a hundred years!

Conclusion

That’s how you write over 2,000 words from a single ‘cotillion’. What a long way from the peasant skirts to the cardboard objects!

The answer to the initial question, ‘What is a cotillion? is more complex than it seems. It’s a petticoat. A slang word for a light woman. A dance. These are two types of dance. These are party accessories.

Did you guess all that? How much would you put on 4?

I’ve only selected a few cotillion figures, but there are hundreds. Which ones do you know?

Tell me all about it in the comments section!

To dig deeper on that topic

Jean-Michel Guilcher wrote a very famous book about the birth of the French contredanse. I highly recommend this book if you are interested in this subject:

Jean-Michel Guilcher, La contredanse. Un tournant dans l’histoire française de la danse, Editions Complexe et Centre national de la danse, Coll. « Territoires de la danse », 2003 (plusieurs éditions).

Also, note another meaning for the word Cotillion in English.

In the South of the US, the word ‘cotillion’ or ‘cotillion ball’ is a course of etiquette and good manners for middle-schooled-aged children. It usually end with a dinner dance where they show off what they learned.

The pupils learns a choreography to perform during the dinner dance, that is the ‘cotillion dance’. It is not clear to me if the Southern cotillion derive from the quadrille or the game dance.