Young ladies too tired to stand at a Black debutante ball: Miranda Barnes's best photograph

"Cotillion dances have European origins, but in the poem, Black New Yorkers perform classic dances such as waltzes and quadrilles and are dressed in fine outfits. These Black debutante balls go back a long way, and are one example of African Americans trying to create a better life. Today, they continue to introduce young women into society and retain a strong emphasis on the participants' education."

"I'd photographed cheerleaders, churches, traditional rodeos and other intergenerational community gatherings. I wanted to include a debutante ball in a post-industrial city, and Detroit has a very rich Black history. When I first reached out to the city's Cotillion Society, I only planned to attend one year's event. But after that evening in 2022, I realised this was a project in itself and that I was really going to have to work for the images I wanted."

"The Detroit Masonic Temple, where the cotillions take place, is an incredible venue, but it doesn't provide any natural light, something I've relied on for most of my career. I would get six to eight hours to work, arriving while the kids were getting dressed and preparing for the evening's events. The girls take etiquette lessons for months leading up to the ball as part of the programme, as do their male escorts,"

A poem set in the mid-1800s frames the emergence of increased financial prosperity for some African Americans and depicts Black New Yorkers performing waltzes and quadrilles in fine attire. Black debutante balls function as long-standing social rites that introduce young women into society while emphasizing education. Photographic work originally aimed at surveying Black subcultures shifted focus to Detroit cotillions after a 2022 event. The Detroit Masonic Temple hosts the balls but lacks natural light, requiring deliberate technical effort. Participants train in etiquette and formal choreography, and a live orchestra performs classical, jazz, and popular variations across multiple consecutive annual balls.

Read at www.theguardian.com