Prepared by Bernalyn Ramos

The cotillion (also cotillon or "French

country dance") is a social dance,
popular in 18th-century Europe and
America. Originally for four couples in
square formation, it was a courtly
version of an English country dance, the
forerunner of the quadrille and, in the
United States, the square dance
• a formal ball given
especially for debutantes.
• a lively French social dance
originating in the 18th
century, consisting of a
variety of steps and figures
and performed by couples.
• any of various dances resembling
the quadrille.
music arranged or played for these
dances.
• a formalized dance for a large
number of people, in which a head
couple leads the other dancers
through elaborate and stately
figures
 The name cotillion (French:
"petticoat") appears to have been in
use as a dance-name at the
beginning of the 18th century but,
though it was only ever identified as
a sort of country dance, it is
impossible to say of what it
consisted at that early date.
 The cotillion was introduced into
England by 1766 and to America in
about 1772. In England from that time
onwards there are a large number of
references stressing its universal
popularity in the best and highest circles
of society, and many teaching manuals
were published to help recall the vast
number of changes that were invented.
The forward back step
The side break
The back break