A mad, hot ballroom

One, two, cha-cha-cha. One two, cha-cha-cha.

Alexandria’s sons and daughters are making strides in ballroom dancing, etiquette, poise, and civility with the help of the area cotillions. Houston Moncure, 20, and a veteran cotillion student would agree.

“I recently attended the New Year’s Eve Ball at the Russian Embassy, and totally blanked on all the moves I had learned,” Moncure said.” Luckily, it came back to me, just as a Russian bombshell accepted my invitation to hit the dance floor. Perfect timing.”

Two organizations in this area are The Alexandria Chapter of the National League of Junior Cotillions and The Virginia Cotillion. Learning to cha cha, meringue, waltz, and tango as well as make an introduction, shake hands and send a thank you note has improved the sociability of the areas 4th through 8th graders.

Marilyn Wellington (nljcvirginia@aol.com) has been at the helm of the Alexandria Chapter of the National League for nine years, and hosted Moncure in her class. “I attended a two-day training program as I was starting the business to review the latest material, and the best methods for teaching our young charges,” Wellington said. “I have a big notebook with each evening’s lesson outlined. Our program is standardized so there’s a focus on continuity and structure.”

Every bit the Lady in a tailored black suit, Wellington teaches her class with structure and humor, relaxing rules when they seem outdated. “I don’t have the girls wear white gloves since people don’t do that anymore. I also don’t host a “white ball” where the girls wear white dresses, since I don’t want anyone feeling left out if they can’t find a white dress.” The boys wear khaki pants and blazers or suits, and the girls wear dresses or skirts.

Wellington’s program serves the children in the 7th and 8th grades. Her two-year curriculum serves an average of 250 to 300 students each year. There are five regular classes and two balls; the tuition is $300 for the 7th grade year, and an additional $30 for the 8th grade year (the increase covers the cost of a five-course meal which is part of the student’s instruction). She teaches the course at the Mount Vernon Country Club.

Etiquette
The social dance aspect of Wellington’s course covers the waltz, cha cha, fox trot, swing. The etiquette portion of her class addresses basics such as: introductions, sitting properly, how to give and receive compliments, how to handle doors and coats, telephone and cell phone etiquette, Internet etiquette, party courtesies, table setting, thank you notes, RSVP, handwritten RSVPs and sports etiquette.

Wellington gets as creative as she needs to get with her classes. She invited Houston Moncure’s father to attend class to observe his son, and she has even had Coach Peter Ward from the George Mason swim team attend one of her classes to explain what he expects from his athletes to put the children’s lessons in context.

“I usually try to conduct the class on sportsman-like behavior sometime in March around the basketball playoffs. Without fail, win or lose, the students at the University of Maryland have proceeded to ransack poor College Park. I use this as an example of what not to do” Wellington chuckled.

The Virginia Cotillion (www.thevirginiacotillion.com) was formed in 1990. Amy Alberson, Lynn Hooff and Perry Guy comprise the dream team that is evolving their curriculum each season based on modern times with an eye towards tradition. “I was inspired by my own experience as a young girl attending Miss Donnan’s Cotillion in Richmond where I grew up and wanted that same experience for my own sons,” Guy said. Guy learned the first steps of the waltz in the arms of the young man that would later become her husband, and who was a student in the cotillion class before her.

Dancing
The Virginia Cotillion welcomes children drawn from the 4th thru 8th grades from all area schools; approximately 15 to 18 are represented. There are eight classes in the series, including the “Snowball,” the final, formal dance of the season.

The classes are held about once a month at the Saint Stephens/St. Agnes Upper School Cafeteria. The tuition is: $255. Each class has a theme, such as “Football Frenzy,” or “Saddle Up,” and the children dress accordingly, learning dances that complement the theme.

The instructor, Jonathan C. Dalen, strives to keep the curriculum relevant to the students. Last year, after he viewed the film “Mad Hot Ballroom” about the successful addition of ballroom dancing to the New York City public schools, he immediately added the meringue to the repertoire. Each dance evening begins with introductions to the hostesses and the instructor and then is followed by the Grand March where the children are paired off with a partner. The children have learned to fox trot to the Dixie Chicks and to swing dance to the Glenn Miller Band.

“We want our children to have fun, enjoy being social, enjoy making new friends, all while learning the classic skill of social dance,” Guy said. “I think that children who attend cotillion become more confident and poised.”

Wellington agreed. “If, in the future, they are confronted with a situation that is unfamiliar, they have these skills in their back pocket. It is not about becoming a snob, or looking down upon others, it is simply to help these children float more gracefully through their lives, particularly as they approach high school and college and the many new situations with which they will be confronted, including college and job interviews.”