Mike and I traveled to Wilson, NC last Saturday for our annual Wilson Cotillion Ball. We were living in Wilson in the mid-eighties, and we were one of the thirteen original couples who started the Cotillion. Although Mike and I moved to Raleigh in 1987, we have stayed involved in the Cotillion. We enjoy going back to Wilson for the annual Ball and the two informal dancing events each year.

There is some difference of opinion about how many years we have been together in the Wilson Cotillion but suffice it to say that it is almost forty, and depending on how it is counted, it may even be 40. Regardless of the number of people with the most agreement about our tenure, that is a very long time!  

The Cotillion was the brainchild of our dancing teacher, Gene Barnes. Gene was a well-respected dancer, whose career included teaching dancing in New York and performing on off-Broadway. He was also the uncle of one of our friends, Judy Boone. Judy and her husband Tom are also one of the original thirteen couples. Gene taught many of us ballroom dancing and birthed the Cotillion idea, but unfortunately, he passed away soon before our first Ball. Those of us who knew and loved Gene have him on our minds and hearts as we dance in his memory and honor.

We have grown from the original thirteen couples to our number most years being fifty couples. Life and circumstances have changed for some of the original thirteen couples. At Saturday night’s Ball, we only had three of the original thirteen couples: the Boones, Kim and Branch Benton, and us, and two other spouses of deceased members from that group.

What keeps a group like the Wilson Cotillion still going strong for so many years? The most important variable for a dancing club is dancing, and having great bands has knitted the group together. There has also been good leadership in our group, with different people serving in the various necessary roles.

Then there is the issue of new blood. New members are invited to join by current members. Were it not for current members being happy with their experience, staying involved, and inviting others to join, the Wilson Cotillion would have died a natural death many years ago. And of course, new blood comes with new ideas, so the organization has changed as it has evolved. Some of the growing pains have been uncomfortable at times, but the strength of the collective has withstood those changes.  

I hope you have wonderful history with friends like we have in the Wilson Cotillion, perhaps even dancing together! Although the moves of those of us in our later years aren’t as nimble as they were even ten years ago, much less forty, we keep moving and dancing the night away!