BENTONVILLE-ROGERS JUNIOR COTILLION for 6th, 7th and 8th & 9th Grade students
Registration is OPEN for our Fall 2023 Cotillon Season. Please see individual groups to register.
Invitations/waiting list notices will be released on May 1st, 2023 for the Fall Season. Invitations will continue to be released until September 7th as space in each group allows.
Registration is also open now for Summer 2023 for these fun and educational events: Girls Only Etiquette, Saturday, June 10th (Girls in rising 5th-7th grades) Elementary Manners 101 Event, Saturday, June 10th (Boys and Girls, ages 6-10) College Prep Etiquette Course, starts Sunday, June 11th (Rising 9th-12 graders) See individual pages to register for any of the above events.
"I am proud to announce our 16th season of Bentonville-Rogers Junior Cotillion for the Fall of 2023. Each cotillion class empowers students by teaching valuable social skills and etiquette lessons that will last a lifetime. It is a joy to watch the students grow into the wonderful young ladies and gentlemen they are meant to be."
- Renee Swindell, Program Director of BRJC
To fill out an application, please scroll down and select the appropriate grade for your child. We have cotillion classes for 6th graders, 7th graders, and an 8th/9th grade combined class.
* CURRENT FIFTH GRADE PARENTS (Rising 6th graders for Fall of 2023): Applications for Fall of 2023 opened on OCT 15, 2022. The Director of BRJC attended the May 2021 American Association of Etiquette Professionals National Conference in Denver, Colorado. Past conferences the BRJC director has attended have been held in Memphis, Boston, and Denver, as well as one that had to be held virtually in 2020 that BRJC was scheduled to host.
The American Association of Etiquette Professionals held their annual conference in Bentonville, Arkansas on March 31st - April 3, 2022, and the Bentonville-Rogers Junior Cotillion was so honored to serve as host and have these valued colleagues here in our beautiful area. BRJC is pretty sure they will be back! The BRJC director attended the 2023 spring Dallas annual Etiquette Professionals conference. It is a delight to be an active member of the American Association of Etiquette Professionals to connect with other etiquette teachers from across the country as we discuss trending etiquette topics and best practices.
ABOUT BENTONVILLE-ROGERS JUNIOR COTILLION
The Bentonville-Rogers Junior Cotillion is celebrating our 15th Fall Cotillion season in 2022. Founded in 2008, the Bentonville-Rogers Junior Cotillion is a four-year program for children in the sixth through ninth grades whose mission is to improve the self-esteem, confidence, and social skills of boys and girls. The curriculum includes the teaching of dance and social graces with the goal of making the students comfortable in any social setting that they may encounter. New students may gladly join after the sixth grade year, but must complete the review workshops offered.
Manners and etiquette are taught and put into practice at each cotillion event. Line dances, as well as, traditional ballroom partner dances are introduced. Proper etiquette for receiving lines, grand marches, trading partners, introductions, and serving of refreshments are mastered early in the program and are expanded upon each year they attend.
The BRJC Cotillion season consists of six events to be held on selected Saturday evenings from September to early November. Our location for our first five events will be the Bentonville Community Center, 1101 SW Citizens Circle, Bentonville. Our last event for the season, the Holly Ball, will be held at the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Ballroom, 301 SE Walton Blvd, Bentonville.
Registration for our Fall 2023 Cotillion season is open now. Cotillion Registration requires a submitted application and deposit, or students are not placed on a list. Early Applications are recommended as acceptances are first applied, first accepted. To register a New or Returning BRJC student for the FALL of 2023, please select your child's grade for the Fall of 2023.
Online payment buttons are at the bottom of the opened online application after you have selected the Register button and grade of your student. A Non-refundable deposit is due at time of registration, along with the application.
Review Lessons: If a student misses a dance, the student should attend a review lesson on the next cotillion date following the dance missed. Time for each group will be emailed to parents. All students that miss a dance are expected to attend a review lesson so they won’t be behind on dance instruction and etiquette lessons. There is no review lesson for the last event, the Holly Ball.
Carpools: Carpools can be convenient for some parents. Parents are responsible for forming all carpools and after cotillion activities if you choose to do so. BRJC will not give out attendees list to parents.
Drop-Off and Pick-Up: Students should arrive 10-15 minutes before their dance starts and should follow the carpool lines for drop-off by the entrance. Please pick-up by the same route. Students will not be allowed to go into the parking lot or cross the street to parked cars unless a parent or helper escorts them. Please be on time to pick up your child.
Holly Ball Chaperones: Holly Ball Chaperones will be the parents or guardians of current students only. Parents will watch the dance and join us at the very end of the event. Chaperones for Holly Ball are parents only, and not grandparents. Younger siblings are not invited, so secure your babysitters early for this event. Holly Ball details will be come to parents by invitation in an email in October.
Orientation Reception for Parents: A reception to honor parents of new cotillion members will be held in late August/early September. Attendance is required, as more information about the program and attire will be given at that time. This fall's parent orientation will be held in person or by Zoom, and an invitation will be sent to all new students' parents.
Copyright Agreement: As a condition of student participation, parents grant the Bentonville-Rogers Junior Cotillion the right to photograph students for publication within the Bentonville-Rogers Junior Cotillion brochures, postcards, website, newsletters, or other online publicity. No names will be published.
PICTURE GALLERY
TESTIMONIALS
"Just a quick note to share that our daughter was showing her cotillion experience this past weekend while attending a formal wedding. Watching her do the Cha Cha Cha in a sea of adults was gratifying. Thank you for doing what you do! We believe she gained the confidence to dance amongst strangers; enjoying herself from her BRJC experience. Thank you." --Jill S. Rogers, AR
"I could not wait for my sons to start Cotillion. I had heard wonderful things about it for years prior to them coming to the age they could attend. It did not disappoint. The boys enjoy learning the dances and discussing manners. The dress up nights are so fun for the boys. They have great respect for Mrs. Swindell and her helpers. Thank you for offering this to the youth of NWA." --Sara H., Bentonville, AR
"As a parent of two children who have been actively involved in the BRJC cotillion from 6th-9th grades and one as a helper, BRJC has been invaluable in building their confidence in many social situations. As I've watched both perform numerous dance numbers in school musicals with such confidence and ease, I have no doubt their foundation in cotillon helped tremendously! In today's society, proper cell phone etiquette and the importance of a hand written thank you note seems to go by the wayside, but BRJC has helped our son and daughter remember the value of these mannerly life skills. Thanks."--Melody W., Bentonville, AR
"BRJC has helped our son grow into a confident, well-mannered, responsible man...and the bonus is that he knows how to dance! Thank you Mrs. Swindell for the positive experience."--Sandra S., Rogers, AR "Our son has enjoyed both participating and being a helper at BRJC. We appreciate all that you do to make a difference in the young lives that attend Cotillion. The kids have a ball socializing with friends and learning dance steps, all the while improving their manners! We appreciate the fact that you are layering onto lessons that we work on at home. As we know, it takes a village to develop children into adulthood, and BRJC is teaching life lessons that they can take with them forever. Thank you!"-Candy F., Bentonvillle, AR
"My people skills have improved by great lengths from the time I started BRJC to now. Mrs. Swindell pairing us with a new partner each time helped me become close with a group of people, when walking in I knew no one. It has also helped me in a professional sense when talking to teachers, CEO's, and managers. My ease to create good conversation is all a testament to Mrs. Swindell's teaching." --former participant, Bentonville, AR
"There are a few things that I have enjoyed about the Bentonville-Rogers Junior Cotillion. I always loved meeting people from the area that I would not have had the chance to interact with otherwise. Cotillion made ballroom dancing a fun activity for me to share with my friends. The manner sessions were both relevant and important lessons for us to learn. I learned many things at cotillion and made so many enjoyable memories."--former participant, Rogers, AR