Cotillion
A dance with four couples and 10 or 12 figures (parts). Precurser to the quadrille. Imported from France — had complicated steps that the regular English country dances did not.
“Oh, Mummy, do I really need to learn the cotillion? It is so much more complicated than the other dances.”
“Of course you do! Do you expect to stand against the wall when the other debutantes are meeting prospective beau? The cotillion allows you to meet and dance with more than one gentleman. It is a veritable buffet of suitors.”
“But what if I make a mistake?”
“You won’t make a mistake. When we are through you will have danced this so many times you will see it in your dreams.”
Merriam-Webster
Etymology: French cotillon, literally, petticoat, from Old French, from cote coat
A ballroom dance for couples that resembles the quadrille : an elaborate dance with frequent changing of partners carried out under the leadership of one couple at formal balls
Wikipedia
The Cotillion was a popular 18th and 19th century dance in the French Courts that preceded the Quadrille style of dancing.
A cotillion or debutante ball is a formal presentation of young ladies, debutantes, to polite society.
