<P> It is customary for the female to ask a male to the débutante ball, with males not being able to "do the deb" unless they are asked . The débutantes and their partners must learn how to ballroom dance . Débutante balls are almost always held in a reception centre, school hall, the function room of a sporting or other community organisation venue e.g. RSL club, or ballroom . Usually they are held late in the year and consist of dinner, dancing, and speeches . </P> <P> In the United Kingdom, the last débutantes were presented at Court in 1958, after which Queen Elizabeth II abolished the ceremony . Attempts were made to keep the tradition going by organising a series of parties for young girls who might otherwise have been presented at Court in their first season (to which suitable young men were also invited) by Peter Townend . However, the withdrawal of royal patronage made these occasions increasingly insignificant, and scarcely distinguishable from any other part of the social season . </P> <P> The expression "débutante", or "deb" for short, has continued to be used, especially in the press, to refer to young girls of marriageable age who participate in a semi-public upper class social scene . The expression "deb's delight" is applied to good looking unmarried young men from similar backgrounds . </P> <P> The presentation of débutantes to the Sovereign at Court marked the start of the British social season . Applications for young women to be presented at court were required to be made by ladies who themselves had been presented to the Sovereign; the young woman's mother, for example, or someone known to the family . A mother - in - law who herself had been presented might, for example, present her new daughter - in - law . </P>

Old woman dancing coming out of her house