Boys prove good sports at cotillion

The choreographer, having just taught 14 Springfield High School girls how to curtsy, poses a question to the boys beside them: Can you dig it?
http://rutlandherald.com/article/20140324/NEWS02/703249931

Springfield High School boys practice for their town’s 58th annual Apple Blossom Cotillion. Photo: Kevin O’Connor / Staff PhotoPublished March 24, 2014 in the Rutland Herald Boys prove good sports at cotillion Editor’s note: This story is part of a periodic series exploring the evolution of Vermont’s only continuing cotillion. By Kevin O’Connor Staff Writer The choreographer, having just taught 14 Springfield High School girls how to curtsy, poses a question to the boys beside them: Can you dig it? She’s not asking for their feelings about dainty displays of formality. Instead, she’s inquiring if they can pantomime working a shovel with their hands while moving their feet to “Shake Your Body Down to the Ground” by The Jacksons. Ask a teenage boy most anywhere in America about this month’s preparations for “The Big Dance” and they’ll talk about their picks for the NCAA basketball tournament. But stop by the gym in the Windsor County town of Springfield, population 9,373, and you’ll instead see more than a dozen boys practicing for the 58th annual Apple Blossom Cotillion. The local hospital fundraiser was launched in 1957 as a way for the community to “introduce” its debutantes. A half-century later, girls are quite capable of stepping out on their own. Still, when you’re wearing heels and a floor-grazing gown, it’s easier to do so on the supportive arm of a partner. “Girls, it’s important that your guys are as dedicated as you are,” co-director Tammy Farmer says. Tell that to the boys in sweatshirts and baggy shorts who see the basketball court underfoot as a place to dribble rather than dance in rehearsal every Sunday for two hours for four months. Girls can choose their own partner. But as guidelines warn, “Please select your escort wisely.” Think your boyfriend is your best bet? Most participants know the legendary-yet-no-so-long-ago story of the lass who chose her beau for her escort, only to watch him walk away from his commitment when they broke up a week before the cotillion. “Obviously you don’t want a bad dancer,” Kaylee Haskell says of the selection process. “But you also want somebody you’re comfortable with, somebody you won’t get tired of or annoyed with.” That’s why Haskell is dancing with fellow senior Alex Hall, a classmate since first grade. “We’re like siblings,” she says. “He’s my absolute best friend in the world.” Hall didn’t think twice about accepting. “I wanted to be there for her,” he says. Michael Kollman offers a more casual explanation for why he’s escorting Meghan Courchesne. “I was like, why not,” the junior says. “I thought I’d make her year by doing it.” Kylie Bellows is paired with fellow senior Chase Baldwin, who is, gulp, her boyfriend. “Sometimes it’s more challenging,” she acknowledges as he hangs off a basketball hoop. Then again, Baldwin has done it before — the cotillion, that is. This is his third consecutive appearance. “I do feel I have an advantage,” he says. “I know what to expect and how to handle the pressure.” Take the sight of 1,000 people crowded into the school gym the first Saturday in May; or the sound of a master of ceremonies announcing that the event aims to raise $15,000 for the hometown hospital. That’s why all the boys keep returning for rehearsal — even the weekend it conflicted with the New England Patriots playing the Denver Broncos for a slot in the Super Bowl. “I kind of got dragged into it,” says Brighton Fontaine, a senior participating in his second cotillion, “but I’m glad I did.” Last year Fontaine was helping out his girlfriend’s cousin. This year? “Because it’s one of the fun-nest experiences you can have in high school,” he says. “Being senior year, you should take any chances that come to you because you don’t know if you’re going to get that again.” The school athlete coaches his fellow teammates on the dance floor. “I don’t want the guys to hold back,” Fontaine says. “It’s OK to go outside your boundaries. Everything I do, whether it’s this or sports, you want to make every moment count and be the best you can be.” The boys, however, aren’t competing for a crown like the girls. They won’t face the queen’s scorecard on “poise,” “personality,” “presentation” and “performance.” “The boys aren’t being judged the way we are,” one girl says. “They can just do whatever they want,” adds another. Boys pay $100 for a rented tuxedo versus $200 for the girls’ specially tailored gowns. They can break dance during “Shake Your Body” and wear sunglasses and fedoras during their second spotlight number, “Billie Jean.” “I wish we could do that song,” says one girl sidelined on the bleachers. The boys, dropping for a choreographed set of pushups, acknowledge their unique positions. “If a guy messes up, the crowd just chuckles,” Fontaine says. But they also can help turn two seemingly mild-mannered students into a dynamic duo. “The girls are like Batman,” Fontaine says, “and the boys are like Robin.”