A curtsy (also spelled curtsey or incorrectly as courtsey) is a traditional gendered gesture of greeting, in which a girl or woman bends her knees while bowing her head. In Western culture it is the feminine equivalent of bowing by males. Miss Manners characterizes its knee bend as deriving from a "traditional gesture of an inferior to a superior." [1] The word "curtsy" is a phonological change from "courtesy" known in linguistics as syncope.
According to Desmond Morris, the motions involved in the curtsy and the bow were similar until the 17th century, and the sex differentiation between the actions developed afterwards. The earlier, combined version is still performed by Restoration comedy actors. [2]
In more formal variants of the curtsy, the girl/woman bends the knees outward (rather than straight ahead), often sweeping one foot behind her. She may also use her hands to hold her skirt out from her body. In the Victorian era, when women wore floor-length, hooped skirts, they curtsied using the plié movement borrowed from second-position in classical ballet in which the knees are bent while the back is held straight. Both feet and knees point out so the torso lowers straight down. This way, the lady lowers herself evenly and not to one side.
Traditionally, women and girls curtsy for those of senior social rank just as men and boys bow. Today this practice has become less common. In Victorian courts, the curtsy was done as a signal for courtship availability, and social status dominance or submissiveness, in order to be successful socially. [3] Further, some female domestic workers curtsy for their employers.
The "Texas dip" is an extreme curtsy performed by a Texan debutante. The young woman slowly lowers her forehead towards the floor by crossing her ankles, then bending her knees and sinking. The escort's hand is held during the dip. When the debutante's head nears the floor, she turns her head sideways, averting the risk of soiling her dress with lipstick. [4]
It is also acceptable in some cultures for the female to curtsy if wearing trousers or shorts.
In many European cultures it is traditional for women to curtsy in front of royalty. It may then be referred to as a court curtsy and is often especially deep and elaborate.
During her coronation, Queen Elizabeth II performed a curtsy, or rather a half-curtsy, half-neck bow to King Edward's Chair. [5]
During the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales the Queen bowed her head in a half-curtsey as the Princess's coffin passed her. [6]
Female dancers often curtsy at the end of a performance to show gratitude or to acknowledge applause from the audience. At the end of a ballet class, students will also curtsy or bow to the teacher and pianist to show gratitude. According to Victorian dance etiquette, a woman curtsies before beginning a dance. Female Scottish highland dancers performing the national dances and the Irish jig also curtsy (at both the beginning and end for the national dances and at the end for the Irish jig). Some female ballroom dancers will curtsy to their partners before beginning the Viennese Waltz.
It is also common for female square dancers to curtsy as a method of greeting their male dance partners prior to the dance, while her partner bows. This square dancing practice is called "Honor your partner." Female cloggers also sometimes curtsy at the end of their performance.
It is customary for female figure skaters to curtsy at the end of their performances at figure skating competitions or shows.
Ballroom dance is a set of European partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world, mostly because of its performance and entertainment aspects. Ballroom dancing is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and television.
The pavane is a slow processional dance common in Europe during the 16th century (Renaissance).
The schottische is a partnered country dance that apparently originated in Bohemia. It was popular in Victorian era ballrooms as a part of the Bohemian folk-dance craze and left its traces in folk music of countries such as Argentina, Finland, France, Italy, Norway ("reinlender"), Portugal and Brazil, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Mexico, and the United States, among other nations. The schottische is considered by The Oxford Companion to Music to be a kind of slower polka, with continental-European origin.
Partner dances are dances whose basic choreography involves coordinated dancing of two partners. As such it occupies a middle ground between individuals dancing alone or individually in a non-coordinated manner, and groups of people dancing simultaneously in a coordinated manner.
Greeting is an act of communication in which human beings intentionally make their presence known to each other, to show attention to, and to suggest a type of relationship or social status between individuals or groups of people coming in contact with each other. Greetings are sometimes used just prior to a conversation or to greet in passing, such as on a sidewalk or trail. While greeting customs are highly culture- and situation-specific and may change within a culture depending on social status and relationship, they exist in all known human cultures. Greetings can be expressed both audibly and physically, and often involve a combination of the two. This topic excludes military and ceremonial salutes but includes rituals other than gestures. A greeting, or salutation, can also be expressed in written communications, such as letters and emails.
Bowing is the act of lowering the torso and head as a social gesture in direction to another person or symbol. It is most prominent in Asian cultures but it is also typical of nobility and aristocracy in many European countries. It is also used in religious contexts, as a form of worship or veneration. Sometimes the gesture may be limited to lowering the head such as in Indonesia, and in many cultures several degrees of the lowness of the bow are distinguished and regarded as appropriate for different circumstances. It is especially prominent in Nepal, India, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, China, Korea, and Japan, where it may be executed standing or kneeling. Some bows are performed equally by two or more people while others are unequal – the person bowed to either does not bow in return or performs a less low bow in response. A nod of the head may be regarded as the minimal form of bow; forms of kneeling, genuflection, or prostration which involves the hands or whole body touching the ground, are the next levels of gesture.
A debutante, also spelled débutante, or deb is a young woman of aristocratic or upper-class family background who has reached maturity and is presented to society at a formal "debut" or possibly debutante ball. Originally, the term indicated that the woman was old enough to be married, and one purpose of her "coming out" was to display her to eligible bachelors and their families with a view to marriage within a select circle.
The cha-cha-cha is a dance of Cuban origin. It is danced to cha-cha-cha music introduced by the Cuban composer and violinist Enrique Jorrin in the early 1950s. This rhythm was developed from the danzón-mambo. The name of the dance is an onomatopoeia derived from the shuffling sound of the dancers' feet when they dance two consecutive quick steps that characterize the dance.
Highland dance or Highland dancing is a style of competitive dancing developed in the Scottish Highlands in the 19th and 20th centuries, in the context of competitions at public events such as the Highland games. It was created from the Gaelic folk dance repertoire, but formalised with the conventions of ballet, and has been subject to influences from outside the Highlands. Highland dancing is often performed with the accompaniment of Highland bagpipe music, and dancers wear specialised shoes called ghillies or pumps. It is now seen at nearly every modern-day Highland games event.
Etiquette in Japan forms common societal expectations of social behavior practiced throughout the nation of Japan. The etiquette of Japan has changed greatly over the millennia as different civilizations influenced its culture. Modern Japanese etiquette has a strong influence from that of China and the Western world, but retains many of its unique traditional elements.
Kneeling is a basic human position where one or both knees touch the ground. According to Merriam-Webster, kneeling is defined as "to position the body so that one or both knees rest on the floor". Kneeling with only one knee, and not both, is called genuflection.
The first dance is an element in a number of traditions, being an opening of a certain dance function: ball, prom, wedding, etc.
Etiquette in Asia varies from country to country even though certain actions may seem to be common. No article on the rules of etiquette, nor any list of faux pas, can ever be complete. As the perception of behaviors and actions vary, intercultural competence is essential. A lack of knowledge about the customs and expectations of Asian people can make even those with good intentions seem rude, foolish, and disrespectful.
The debut is a traditional Filipino coming-of-age celebration which celebrates a young woman's 18th birthday, the age of maturity in the Philippines. Although also reaching legal maturity at 18, a Filipino man may mark his own debut on his 21st birthday, albeit with less formal celebrations or none at all.
The Texas dip is a form of elaborate curtsey and prostration performed in Texas during debutante balls. It involves the woman extending her arms completely to either side and lowering herself fully so that one knee touches the floor while simultaneously bowing her head to the side so that her left ear touches her lap. The Texas dip is believed to have originated in about 1909.
Set de flo' was a type of dance competition held among African Americans during the 19th century.
Kitty O'Neil was one of the most celebrated American variety theatre dancers of the late 19th century. From around 1863 until 1892, she performed in New York City, Boston and elsewhere in the United States, and at her death was acclaimed by The New York Times as "the best female jig dancer in the world." O'Neil's name is remembered today chiefly because of "Kitty O'Neil's Champion," a "sand jig" named in her honor that was first published in 1882 and revived starting in the 1970s by fiddler Tommy Peoples and other Irish traditional musicians.
The Queen Charlotte's Ball is an annual British debutante ball. The ball was founded in 1780 by George III as a birthday celebration in honour of his wife, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, for whom the ball is named. The Queen Charlotte's Ball originally served as a fundraiser for the Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital. The annual ball continued after Queen Charlotte's death in 1818, but was criticised by the British royal family in the 1950s and 1960s and folded in 1976.
Bowing in Japan is the act of lowering one's head or the upper part of the torso, commonly used as a sign of salutation, reverence, apology or gratitude in social or religious situations.
