The cotillion presents each debutante, listing their accomplishments throughout high school and their hopes for college and beyond. Many of the women led multiple extracurricular groups, held leadership positions at school and volunteered their time in the community while also holding down part-time jobs. The debutantes are heading to various schools across the country, including University of San Francisco, Xavier University, Metro State University, University of Colorado Boulder and more. 

This year marks the event’s 75th anniversary, and this year’s class joins more than 1,600 alumnae of the program. Owl Club debutantes from years past include former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and local dance legend Cleo Parker Robinson.

Each class spends more than 40 hours preparing for the cotillion. In an interview with Rocky Mountain PBS ahead of this year’s cotillion, Rice said that when she was a debutante, the event was crucial, giving young Black women a sense of what was happening in what Rice refers to as “the parallel society.”

“There was white society and there was Black society,” Rice said. “Parents went out of their way to give their kids, their children, comparable experiences to what was going on in the parallel white society.”

According to waltz instructor and Owl Club historian Ron Washington, the ball is an exciting finish line for everyone involved. 

“It’s showtime for them,” Washington said ahead of Saturday’s program. “They’ve been practicing very hard and this will be the culmination of their journey since last fall. So tonight, we celebrate our debutantes.”