Rachel Hamm delicately spooned her lemon sorbet, eating the frozen dessert in small bites, starting with what was closest to her and working outward, as she was taught.
Hamm, a seventh-grader at Concordia Christian Day School, is one of a few dozen teens in the Catawba County League of Junior Cotillions. On March 14, they hosted their Spring Ball. The older students, who were in seventh and eighth grades, participated in a formal, five-course dinner first, practicing all the rules of etiquette they'd learned about in their cotillion classes.
The girls had their hair styled and eye shadow and lipstick perfectly applied. In the slightly dimmed light, the girls' shiny gowns sparkled.
Hamm said she's taking Cotillion because her parents wanted her to. Although she'd already known a few of the table etiquette rules, she didn't know everything, like which forks to use with which course.
Austin Drake, a student at Hickory Christian Academy, said it's sometimes hard to practice lessons at home.
"It's hard trying to practice things at home, like handshakes, dances and some of the food etiquette," he said.
At the start of each course, it is easy to forget the students are teens. They sit up straight and have impeccable manners for the most part. There were a few bobbles. One girl dropped a piece of silverware. One pushed a cookie down into her parfait, rather than pull it out. And occasionally, the talking got a little loud.
Jonah Temple, an eighth-grader at Maiden Middle School, said his parents initially wanted him to take Cotillion. However, now in his second year, he said he really likes it.
"I like the waltz, and I like the games and competition we have. You have to dance with your partner with a Styrofoam ball between you and your partner's head, and try to go the whole dance without it falling," Temple said, although he admits he hasn't yet won. "I also like the shag because you get to move around more."
While some of the etiquette and dance moves the students will use again, there are a few things they might not. The dinner portion of the evening ended with finger bowls — a bowl of cool water with a slice of lemon floating in it for each person to rinse his or her fingers in.
"It was OK, but I'd rather wash my hands in the bathroom," Bethany Clayton said.
Director Jill Beard admits not too many restaurants use finger bowls.
After the meal, the students entered the main room for their ball. The sixth-graders joined them for the event, and it was easy to spot the more experienced students. Because there were more girls than boys, some girls started out on the sides but the older girls had the confidence to cut in on others midway through the first dance. Some of the younger students looked like they wanted to cut in, but couldn't quite gather their nerve.
That's something Beard hopes they gain with Cotillion. In addition to good manners, proper etiquette and dance moves, cotillion also helps teaches students confidence, she said, which will translate to other aspects of their life.
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