The Origins of Cotillion

The Origins of Cotillion

Ana Shore and Mel Videto

This Saturday, November 29th, is the annual Cotillion. The theme of this year’s dance is “A Winter’s Evening in Paris”. The Cotillion is an event thrown for Cortland and Homer High School’s junior and senior girls, who are all permitted to bring a date with them. The tradition of cotillions has been around for a long time, it originated in France in the 1700s. Originally, it consisted of four couples dancing in the formation of a square. This is similar to square dancing in the U.S. where the directions are called out loud by a caller. The name cotillon, which is French for "petticoat", reflected the use of the women’s petticoats by the men in the dance. Cotillions were often used to present a young woman, or some other prominent figure, to society for the first time. By the 1800s, the cotillion had evolved to include many complex dance figures with more couples. The tradition of the cotillion was introduced to Britain around 1763 and from Britain it came to America around 1772. However, the tradition really caught in the western hemisphere with its reintroduction into American culture through a costume ball hosted in New York in 1854. The costume ball was a German Cotillion with the theme of Louis XV and was hosted by Mr. William Colford Schermerhorn. This was where the roots of the cotillion were planted in the U.S. and the dance started to become more widely practiced. In Britain, the tradition of cotillion widely disappeared, except for French or historical contexts. Although the Cotillion that our community practices today has strayed from many aspects of its French roots, it’s still a fun filled night.

“Cotillion.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 22nd October

2014. Web. 28th November 2014 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotillion>.

Movie Review: Interstellar

Movie Review: Interstellar

Skyler Powers

Interstellar is the latest and greatest from the renowned director, Christopher Nolan, who is known for his cinematic masterpieces including Inception and The Dark Knight trilogy.  Interstellar follows a team of explorers who use a newly discovered wormhole to travel from galaxy to galaxy in search of a new home for the human race before the dying Earth becomes uninhabitable.  

This movie was great; Christopher Nolan didn’t disappoint.  The movie also have a very complex plot and, like Inception, requires deep thinking to fully understand and enjoy the film.  The acting was also spectacular; Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway were superb in their roles. Matt Damon and Michael Caine also brought their best acting to the table.  

The film had amazing visuals.  The design of the wormhole and the different galaxies seemed so realistic even though we have never seen another galaxy for ourselves.  The planets were even more breathtaking in visuals and they had some interesting characteristics.  On the Earth, the feeling of peril is quickly established with the constant dust storms and the dying plants and animals.  It is even more shocking because we know that our Earth could look like that in the future if we don’t change our ways.  

The movie clocks in at almost three hours in runtime which may seem long, but the movie does a good job at keeping you interested.  There is also good balance with family bonding, peril and disaster sequences, and even love.  There is something for everyone to enjoy in this film.  I loved Interstellar and I think that it beat Gravity in storyline and visuals by a long shot.  Critics are comparing it to 2001: A Space Odyssey, which I think is a fair and debatable argument.  Whether or not Interstellar is the next 2001: A Space Odyssey is based on opinion, but it cannot be argued against that Interstellar is an amazing, heart-warming, and breathtaking film of intergalactic proportion