Cotillion Classes: From Etiquette to Netiquette - A Spring Series for Young People

Feb. 6, 2009 - PRLog -- Georgetown, Washington, D.C. –  “Oh, be-ha-v-e!” teased Mike Myers as 20th-century British spy Austen Powers calling mock attention to inappropriate conduct from his randy peers.  It is, perhaps, still a point well made, albeit not one with a pointed finger.

Right on the dancing heels of the Inaugural season, this 6-part Sunday afternoon series from March 29 to May 17 is being inaugurated for the first time to coincide with a six-month exhibition at Federal-era Dumbarton House, Preparing for the Ball: Costume of the Early Nation.  Young folks will experience the Museum and its collection as a backdrop to understanding the foundation of basic courtesies, from conduct on the dance floor to the dining table.  Among the hot topics for review by budding ‘tweens:  Etiquette? What’s that Mean?;  Manners, Schmanners; The Golden Rule (oh, which one is that?); Mouth Manners; Using the Six S’s (if you don’t remember this, you really need to sign up your kid); How to Introduce Others, including proper greetings with tips to  remembering names; Making Conversation, One of the Lost Arts;  Being Fine at Dining (table manners for all occasions, silverware usage, napkin rules, passing food, geography of the table,  seating, and so on…); Thank You Notes:  The Other Lost Art; and “Netiquette” for Today’s Cyber-dwellers.  

The “time traveling” instructors for the series are the veteran educator team, “The American Ladies,” Jackie Geschickter and Pat Sowers who each have a collective history of working with young people spanning...decades (now, it wouldn’t be polite to say how many, would it?).  These ladies are dedicated to passing on the lessons of the past, such as that which our first president, George Washington, advised his nephew (in a handwritten note, we note), “...as the first impressions are generally the most lasting, your doings now may mark the leading traits of your character through life.   It is therefore absolutely necessary if you mean to make any figure upon the stage, that you should take the first steps right.”

Local Washington, DC young folks aged 10-12 are invited to accept the challenge of Lord Alfred Tennyson, “The greater the man the greater the courtesy,” in this weekly 6-part series of 2-hour classes.  The series begins on Sunday, March 29, 1-3pm, and continues weekly — excepting Easter Sunday (April 12th) and Mothers Day (May 10th) — culminating on Sunday, May 17, in a formal tea and final presentation to parents from 1-4pm  Specific Sunday dates:  March 29, April 5, 19, & 26; May 3 & 17.  Space for the entire series is very limited.  

The series fee is $175.00 per participant, and includes all activities (etiquette, tea and dance instruction), tea and snacks, and work books. To register, or for questions, please contact:  Education@DumbartonHouse.org, or 202-337-2288 x222.                

About the Instructors:  Miss Geschickter and Mrs. Sowers have created several history camps including those at the Headquarters of The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), Tudor Place, Gunston Hall, and the Lyceum.  Miss Geschickter, a graduate of all primary and secondary years from the Sidwell Friends School, has done extensive research and presented numerous seminars on 18th-century deportment and language for Gunston Hall and many other sites.  Both ladies are accomplished historic dance mistresses, having taught or performed historic dance at the Department of State, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Colonial Williamsburg, George Washington’s Mount Vernon, Tudor Place, to name only a handful.

Mrs. Sowers, a former teacher, has taught “Etiquette on the Ceremony of Tea Taking in Colonial Virginia” at The Tea Table shop, and 18th-century English Country Dancing for the National League of Junior Cotillions conventions. She has also taught Cotillion Classes for young adults at risk for the City of Alexandria, VA.  Regularly appearing around the Washington area as a past President’s Lady, “Dolley Madison,” known as the preeminent hostess of her times, Mrs. Sowers is well-qualified for that role having received honors as a Grand Master of Living History Interpretation in the Order of Cleo from the well-respected Living History Foundation.

General Information about Dumbarton House:  Docent-guided tours are offered at Dumbarton House Tuesday through Saturday, hourly, 10am to 1pm. (Federal holidays schedule varies). Admission to Dumbarton House is $5.00 for Adults/Seniors, and always free to children, youth, and students with current ID.  Groups are welcome, but reservations are required for 10 or more guests.  

Dumbarton House is located at 2715 Q Street, NW, in the heart of residential Georgetown, Washington, DC  20007.  Limited parking and ADA-access is available behind the Museum via 27th Street at Q.  Metrorail:  Red Line, DuPont Circle’s Q Street exit.  Metrobus: D-1, D-2, D-3, D-6 to 27th Street stop.  DC Circulator’s Georgetown connection, 28th Street, NW stop. For more information: www.DumbartonHouse.org, Info@DumbartonHouse.org, or 202-337-2288.

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Dumbarton House is a Federal period historic house museum, ca. 1800, that features a significant collection of Federal era decorative arts, paintings, and furniture, and is open to the public for tours that teach visitors about life in early America. 

The Museum serves as the headquarters for The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America (The NSCDA), a women’s organization that actively promotes our national heritage through historic preservation, patriotic service and educational projects. The NSCDA is comprised of 45 state societies that own or support 80 other properties around the country of architectural or historic value (www.nscda.org). Dumbarton House is accredited by the American Association of Museums. Dumbarton House hosts a regular schedule of programs including special tours, free concerts, lectures, tastings, school programs and summer camps, and is also available for private rentals such as corporate, social, and wedding events.