STEP BY STEP COTILLION CLASS TEACHES YOUTHS CHARM, MANNERS.Byline: CAROL ROCK Staff Writer Martine Monaghan lives by one simple principle: If you have good manners Noun 1. good manners - a courteous manner courtesy personal manner, manner - a way of acting or behaving niceness, politeness - a courteous manner that respects accepted social usage urbanity - polished courtesy; elegance of manner and can dance, you can have anything you want. She teaches those skills to young people in the region. ``It sounds provincial, but there are two things that never go out of style: manners and dancing,'' Monaghan said. ``I try to impress upon them that with charm and the ability to dance, you can rule the world.'' More than 250 adolescents ages 11 to 17 recently attended a ball at Rio Norte Junior High in Valencia as part of the 2006-2007 cotillion season. Tracey Bruckner was one of the parents waiting anxiously outside, peering in at the lines of smartly dressed young people. Her daughter Erica was among the young people, trying hard to ignore the onlookers. ``I thought it would make her more comfortable to know how to dance,'' Bruckner said. ``My two boys took cotillion, and I noticed a difference. We went on a cruise, and they asked my mother to dance. It's kind of a rite of passage rite of passage n. A ritual or ceremony signifying an event in a person's life indicative of a transition from one stage to another, as from adolescence to adulthood. .'' Marcia Tannehill's daughter Meghan loved the first class and was eager for the next. ``I think she liked the whole scene,'' her mother said. At cotillion dances, which begin in October and end in May, girls are called ladies and wear party dresses, stockings, low-heeled leather shoes and, so no one has to be nervous about sweaty palms, short white gloves. Boys are called gentlemen. Each wears a suit or sports coat, shirt, tie, dress slacks and leather-soled shoes. Parents pay $195 per season to have Monaghan and her staff teach the children confidence, social graces, proper table manners Table manners are the etiquette used when eating. This includes the appropriate use of utensils. Different cultures have different standards for table manners. Many table manners evolved out of practicality. and skills to whirl them around the dance floor of life. Dance master Matthew Castillo patiently coached the boys and girls boys and girls mercurialisannua. , lined up on opposite sides of the school's multipurpose mul·ti·pur·pose adj. Designed or used for several purposes: a multipurpose room; multipurpose software. multipurpose Adjective room, on the steps of swing dancing. ``Side, side, back step,'' he said, watching his students carefully and stepping between a couple of boys having trouble. Girls across the room held their arms in dance position, waiting for partners. When Castillo told the boys to find partners, they moved en masse en masse adv. In one group or body; all together: The protesters marched en masse to the capitol. [French : en, in + masse, mass. -- albeit politely 7/8 toward girls they knew from school or had clearly had their eyes on. ``It is so gratifying grat·i·fy tr.v. grat·i·fied, grat·i·fy·ing, grat·i·fies 1. To please or satisfy: His achievement gratified his father. See Synonyms at please. 2. to see the kids enjoy it,'' Monaghan said. ``They really have a lot of enthusiasm, which is why we keep doing this. ``It's fun to hear `Can we do more?' when we have to end the class.'' Monaghan said that after the introductory class, students were dancing in the parking lot. ``This community is so receptive,'' she said. ``It's a different atmosphere, not as cutthroat as some others in Beverly Hills Beverly Hills, city (1990 pop. 31,971), Los Angeles co., S Calif., completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles; inc. 1914. The largely residential city is home to many motion-picture and television personalities. and L.A. You can tell the children in these classes come from loving families.'' The lost arts seem to be a priority in cotillion; students learn about introductions, receiving lines, presenting oneself, shaking hands and making polite conversation. Boys learn how to seat girls and women. ``First impressions are so important,'' Monaghan said. ``The way you sit, the way you talk to each other -- you never get a second chance to make a first impression.'' After the class adjourned, the students thanked Monaghan and Castillo, shaking their hands before leaving. ``I'm having a lot of fun,'' Meadows School Several schools use similar names to the name Meadows School:
``I wanted to learn to dance,'' said Randy Burke, a sixth-grader from Mountain View Elementary. His mother added, ``He begged us to let him do this.'' For Garrett Mesa, it was all about being ready for his first big date. ``I wanted to learn proper manners,'' he said. ``When I take a girl out on our first date, I want to make a good impression.'' carol.rock(at)dailynews.com (661) 257-5252 CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- 2) Youths make their way around the room while Jivanto Van Hemert, above, 14, of Santa Monica Santa Monica (săn`tə mŏn`ĭkə), city (1990 pop. 86,905), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1886. Tourism and retailing are important, and the city has motion-picture, biotechnology, and software industries. escorts two girls during a cotillion class recently at Rio Norte Junior High School Rio Norte Junior High is a school in the William S. Hart Union High School District. Located in the city of Santa Clarita, California, and the community of Valencia, Rio Norte is for seventh and eighth graders. in Valencia. At top left, dance instructor Martine Monaghan, right, coaches Sadie Oppler and Noah Daniels, both 11, of Valencia. Alex Collins/Special to the Daily News |
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