Thoughts on the Black and White Ball

[Rette]

The idea of the Black and White Ball is an awesome one. However, in execution, it was quite the opposite. It wasn't really as advertised. The Black and White Ball has a ton of potential as a really fun event and I hope it happens again next year! ...with a few changes:
1. The dress code wasn't really enforced. People who were cosplaying were allowed in no matter what they were wearing so there were a number of people just wandering around in jeans, tshirts and sneakers who convinced the staff they were cosplaying.
2. The room was way too small. But there wasn't really anything they could do about that once a thousand people showed up. Totally understandable.
3. There was supposed to be no techno. There was definitely techno.
4. More fast swings and waltzes please!

[questionette]

I think the black and white ball ended up pretty OK
The dress code totally threw me for a loop though, there were people in miniskirts and flip flops and then people in giant ball gowns an high heels that probably killed them by the end of the night
The dress code was enforced for the first wave of people that went in, but it seemed all those that came in after that were let in no matter what...which was pretty unfair, having been next to two people that got turned away and one that almost did.  I was REALLY scared about the shoes thing.  Usually in formal dances people can kick off the heels after awhile, but not being able to (I know, the convention center's rule, not anything we could do) made it hard on some people. 

Also, the number of fan boys walking around doing absolutely nothing but standing next to girls and bobbing their heads annoyed me.  After awhile I ended up asking most of the guys if they wanted to dance.  Maybe some undercover matchmakers/party starters would help?  Though there was a professional or two helping teach guys how to dance, which was HILLLARIOUS to watch.

but all in all, I did have a few great dance partners and it did end up pretty good even if the an cafe concert was at the same time

[Enkai]

The theory of the B&W ball DOES sound good, and my fiancee and I were incredibly excited about it.  However, it took us about 15 minutes before we got fed up in frustration.  He does ballroom already, and there was NO room to do anything short of basic.  He said you needed a room at least 4 times as big to accommodate as many people was were there.  Also, the songs we heard he said were not really suited for dancing, ESPECIALLY not dancing for people with very little experience.  I'm trying to get him to register and give his thoughts on it, as he is much more coherent about it than I am.  He was really sad about how much it failed though.  He loves every chance he can get to dance with me (even though I have very little experience at all), and it seems like stuff like this always prevents us from doing so.

[Kaura117]

I was disappointed when I found out I didn't have luggage space to bring formalwear. Now I'm disappointed even more to find that formalwear wasn't even really that necessary. =/ C'mon Fanime- show some class. Can we get a proper ball goin' in 09?

[SOawesomeness]

Bigger room please, less wait please!
And scheduling conflicts... D:
But it was fun when I got in. I think the hours for BWB should be extended next year seeing as how it's cool to have a rave from 10-4am but a ball for only a short amount of time, I think. D:
And I was a bit disappointed that the dress code wasn't enforced at all by the time I got there as well...

[AbsolutelyCursed]

Agreed on everything said so far. Hated the fact that this event conflicted with Musicfest.

When I first went in I thought I would stay only for a few minutes then head to the concert, but I wound up staying through to the end. I had more fun than I thought.

Even had some girls ask me to dance which was very nice even though I didn't know any of the dances except for the waltz.

[AzHP]

I thought it was good, but yeah, there were too many people not dancing, and not in proper attire, etc etc.  More dress code enforcement next time please.  And of course, a much, much bigger room =/

But yeah, there were some cute girls there, and of course I'm sure I danced with all of you at some point ;)

[outcast]

This was my first time attending the dance and loved it. I really like how the style of the music changed often so there is new feeling to the dance. I couldn't keep up with most of my dance partners but they were nice about it . Everyone that I saw looked elegant like a real formal dance should.

The only complaint that i have is that that the line was huge. They need a bigger space fit everyone.Other than that I had a bast and I'm looking forward to going next year.

[Ylliana]

Hate to go against the grain here, but I thought that, all things considered, the Black and White Ball was awesome. It was so much better than last year that I had to post just to tell the staff what great improvements were made.  Thank you, Staffers!

The music choices were pretty good. The songs for the waltz needed to have a clearer beat, but other than that, there were lots of fun songs like the Chocobo song (great since we're at an anime con!), as well as lots of classic songs like Sing, Sing, Sing. Personally, I heard very little techno or remixed music, and what I did hear had a latin beat. We salsa'd to it, and it was enjoyable. There's nothing wrong with throwing in a "fun" song or two, especially when your audience is mostly younger people.

We have to remember that most of the attendees are young, usually in high school or early college, and they don't have dance experience. To put on a Ball that replicates an official ballroom in every capacity would be intimidating, and I think not as enjoyable. It seemed very important to the dance teachers that everyone have a memorable social experience that would leave them with warm feelings toward social dance. Although I don't completely agree with the way the lessons were taught, I liked the gist of them, and I very much like the emphasis on polite converstation and behaviour.

I agree with the lack of space, though. A bigger room would've been much better.

As for the dress code, it was enforced pretty strictly when we went in, but then, we were at the front of the line. I'm sure that by the time it got towards the end of the dance, the staffers were a lot more lax, trying to let in anyone who wanted to attend the event, since it was about to finish.

[Tsuzusushi]

I'm really surprised that so many people are complaining about the ball this year!  I thought it was beautiful.  From the moment I walked in, I was rather enchanted.  The dress code wasn't super-super strict, no, but there were still so many people in such beautiful clothes.  There were at least a half dozen ballroom versions of different cosplays, which were completely awesome.  (Formal!Zuko, you rule.)

So in short, before I start into my own little soap-boxy constructive criticism, I just want the world to know that, overall, I thought the ball was a HUGE SUCCESS this year and I loved every last minute of it (we only tore ourselves away to leave early because we felt guilty making the people in line wait^_^;;;).

I have to agree - it should have been held in a much larger space.  But I understand that Fanime probably didn't count on such a big turnout (especially since last year's ball, to be frank...SUCKED).

Some of the music was a little hard to follow, but overall I thought the music choices were very good, and very appropriate.  Even at the raves and things, there's often not a lot of anime, video game or even Japanese music, which is disappointing - I was happy to hear a lot of all three at the ball.  I also really appreciated that the type of dance was generally announced when the music started - very helpful.

We came in at the very beginning, so perhaps it changed after we left, but when we got there the dress code was being pretty darn well enforced, and everyone looked wonderful.

I also really liked that there were dance lessons this year, since not everybody has had the opportunity to learn how.  I especially liked that the instructor stressed the importance of changing partners and socializing - I think it made the event a lot more fun for everybody.  I got to meet a lot of new people, and even got introduced to a new show to watch.

I have to agree also that there's nothing wrong with one or two random dances, like the conga line - especially since you don't need to worry about having a partner.  I would have liked to see some mixers - they're really simple, you get to dance with a bunch of people very quickly, and everyone can participate.  They're also relatively simple to explain, and could easily be attached to the ends of several classes.  Have a quick review at the event (also for the benefit of those who didn't make it to the class) and everyone can join in pretty easily.  My social dance teacher does it this way at our end-of-semester party and it doesn't seem to interrupt the flow of the event at all.

Overall, though, GREAT JOB, GUYS!  I'm really looking forward to the Black and White Ball 2009.  Already thinking about what I'm going to wear.  ^_______^  Thanks!

[Raedyn]

Nutshell Version:  I really enjoyed myself this year, even despite the blisters I got from my new shoes.

Things I would like to see fixed are everything mentioned above (more room, no techno, etc), and also the lighting.  I don't really think it was appropriate for a formal dance--why was it so dark?  Why was there a disco ball?

[mangalover0410]

Nutshell Version:  I really enjoyed myself this year, even despite the blisters I got from my new shoes.

Things I would like to see fixed are everything mentioned above (more room, no techno, etc), and also the lighting.  I don't really think it was appropriate for a formal dance--why was it so dark?  Why was there a disco ball?

I liked the fact it was dark. If it's completely light, then it's a whole lot harder to loosen up and enjoy yourself, especially for shy people such as myself. The disco ball was a little silly, but it didn't really bother me.
Also, I didn't mind the techno songs (there were really only about 2 in the first place). It's good to have some variety. It gets boring doing the same 4 dances for 3 straight hours.

[phantomblackwings]

i loved it this year and yeah the concert schedualing was a pain but whatever. i thought it would of been cooler if they took pics of dates and whatnots but that's just me. also the line pissed me off sooo bad because it took us nearly 20 mins to get in and i was dieing to dance. it would be nice if they made it longer like from 6-11 or so, because if any of you might know school dances and baisically people who go to other places and hear gansta hood music that you can't really do proper dances too are everywhre and personally this is the one dance i look forward to every year since i am old fashioned in music genres. so just saying longer and the room a little bit bigger.