For the French dance, see Cotillion (dance).

A cotillion or debutante ball is a formal presentation of young ladies, debutantes, to polite society.

Debutantes are usually recommended by a distinguished committee or sponsored by an established member of elite society.

Modern cotillions are often charity events; the parents of the debutante donate a certain amount of money to the designated cause, and the invited guests pay for their tickets. Cotillions may be elaborate formal affairs and involve not only "debs" but junior debutantes, escorts and ushers, flower girls and pages as well.

Some notable debutante balls

• Atlanta, Georgia: The Harvest Ball, The Christmas Ball
• Baltimore, Maryland: The Bachelor's Cotillion
• Baton Rouge, Louisiana: The Charity Ball
• Birmingham, Alabama: The Ball of Roses
• Boston, Massachusetts: The Cotillion of Boston
• Charleston, South Carolina: The St. Cecilia Ball
• Chattanooga, Tennessee: The Cotton Ball
• Chicago, Illinois: The Passavant Cotillion, The Christmas Ball
• Cincinnati, Ohio: The Bachelor's Cotillion
• Cleveland, Ohio: The Assembly Ball. The Cotillion Society Ball, which presents men as well as women.
• Dallas, Texas: Dallas Symphony Orchestra League Ball
• Denver, Colorado: Bal de Ballet, which presents "Young Men of Distinction" as well as women. Benefits the Colorado Ballet.
• Fort Worth, Texas: Assembly Ball, held in early November. Hispanic Debutante Ball, which presents men and women of Hispanic descent. Steeplechase Club Ball, held in late October.
• Hartford, Connecticut: The Cotillion Assembly Corte of Hartford
• Houston, Texas: Sugar Plum Cotillion
• Huntsville, Alabama: The Symphony Ball
• Kansas City, Missouri: The Jewel Ball, founded in 1954, it benefits the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Kansas City Symphony.
• Los Angeles, California: Las Madrinas Ball benefiting Children's Hospital Los Angeles.
• Memphis, Tennessee: The Holiday Ball, The Summer Presentation Ball
• New Orleans, Louisiana: The Debutante Club Ball, Le Debut des Jeunes Filles de la Nouvelle Orleans
• New York, New York: The Junior Assemblies. The Infirmary Ball, officially the Debutante Cotillion and Christmas Ball, benefiting the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary. The International Debutante Ball is every 2nd year.
• Newport Beach, California: Debutante's Cotillion, as seen on The O.C..
• Norfolk, Virginia: The German, held by the The Norfolk German Club over Thanksgiving.
• Omaha, Nebraska: Omaha Symphony Debutante Ball, which presents men ("stags") as well as women.
• Oxford, Ohio: Miami University Western Honors College Cotillion occurs for college-aged men and women in the Autumn
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Assembly of Philadelphia.
• Phoenix, Arizona: Scottsdale Honors Cotillion,Phoenix Honors Cotillion
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Medallion Ball, named for the medallion each debutante receives from the city's Catholic bishop. Cinderella Ball
• Raleigh, North Carolina: North Carolina Debutante Ball, held in September and sponsored by the Terpsichorean Club.
• Richmond, Virginia: The Bal Du Bois
• St. Louis, Missouri: The Veiled Prophet Ball, founded in 1878, it caters to the members of the Veiled Prophet Organization, a secret society of prominent St. Louisans ^*; Fleur de Lis Ball, a Roman Catholic ball founded in 1959, named after the symbol associated with French kings and the city's French heritage, it raises money for the Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital.
• San Francisco, California: The Cotillion
• Savannah, Georgia: The Christmas Cotillion
• Seattle, Washington: The Christmas Ball
• Shreveport, Louisiana: The Cotillion
• Tyler, Texas: Junior Symphony League, Texas Rose Festival
• Washington, D.C.: The Washington Holiday Ball at the Mayflower Hotel. The National Debutante Cotillion and Thanksgiving Ball, 56th Anniversary in 2006. The beneficiary is Children's National Medical Center.

External links

• "Debutantes step out in style at Winter Ball" - Boston Herald, Dec. 25, 2005

The NATIONAL LEAGUE OF JUNIOR COTILLIONS TM, the nation's only organization that trains and licenses directors to establish local cotillion programs.

American society