Thomas Stone, Crossland high schools hold ‘Co-Cotillion’
The Thomas Stone High School and Crossland High School dance companies hosted their first Co-Cotillion which was held on May 19 at The Camelot of Martin’s in Upper Marlboro.
This is the first year of the Co-Cotillion. In previous years, Thomas Stone has been participants in Crossland’s Cotillion under the direction of Wanda Knotts. Thomas Stone’s Cotillion consisted of Queen — Larissa Johnson; King — James Briscoe; Princess — Jalyn Pinchem; Jr. Princess — Ayonna Ramey; and Miss Congeniality — Jermeesha Middleton. Johnson, who is attending College of Southern Maryland in the fall, decided to put the scholarship money toward the dance team for the coming year. This was the 12th year of the Thomas Stone Scholarship Cotillion and more than 100 people attended.
The dancers and their parents really enjoyed themselves. The Royal Court first danced with their parents to Beyonce’s “Daddy” song. The dancers from both schools put on a show, which included multiple dance performances. Crossland’s jazz band played during dinner. After the completion of the performances, the parents and dancers enjoyed the rest of the night on the dance floor while the DJ played until midnight. Each member of the court and the dancers who weren’t in the court received trophies. Those not in the court were: Gemma Calderon, Jordan Casey, Dakari Yarborough and Nathan Mells.
This Cotillion was very special and had a positive impact on the students as well as their relatives. One of Stone’s male dancers, James Briscoe, said, “this was their first time ever getting a trophy,” and Jordan Casey said, “this was the first time he ever experienced anything like a Cotillion before.” The Cotillion was a success with everyone dressing up, eating and dancing.
The kids worked hard to raise funds and spent long hours practicing, so their parents, grandpar- ents and other relatives and friends could be excited when they saw them step onto the dance floor.
It’s an ongoing challenge to raise funds when a club is not a part of athletics and so many other clubs are trying to do the same thing. With that being said, Thomas Stone Dance Company would like to ask for donations from the community to keep the team going. We would greatly appreciate help with snacks and monetary donations to help with uniforms. All donations can be sent to Thomas Stone High School Dance Company, 3785 Leonardtown Road, Waldorf, MD 20601. If you are writing a check, please make it out to Thomas Stone HS and in the memo section put Thomas Stone Dance Company.