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[Wabbit98]

Err annnywayssss, maybe just have a staff-only after hours lessons (or if there were some, announce it in an e-mail during a meeting)? I disliked having to leave Reg Friday, Saturday, or Sunday to attend dance lessons. o:

If I am remembering correctly our department head, Jim, mentioned private lessons at staff meetings and he said he sent out an email to various other departments mentioning private lessons as well.  We did have private lessons, for everyone not just for staff, Friday and Saturday night.

-Kevin

[jemz]

I'd just like to suggest maybe having the dance lessons somewhere nearer to the convention? Or was it mandatory to have it at the Fairmont because of the hardwood floor? It was super cold and walking over there when I know that I had to leave a busy Registration kinda made me sad. o: The fairmont is farrr. >>;; And when I went, there were only... maybe 20 people who were at the lessons so... that kind of space didn't seem too necessary.

(though maybe it was the distance or lack of schedules that made the attendance kind of sparse...)

Err annnywayssss, maybe just have a staff-only after hours lessons (or if there were some, announce it in an e-mail during a meeting)? I disliked having to leave Reg Friday, Saturday, or Sunday to attend dance lessons. o:

The dance lessons were moved because the General Programming Division Head was working with Dance to utilize the J (where the B&W Ball's dance lessons were previously held) for other programming.  The lack of printed schedules impacted the attendance of the lessons as well as the fact that all the lessons were held in the Fairmont. But I think it's nice to have all that space to practice in without having to bump into people while trying to remember where your foot is supposed to go next.

I've made announcements about the hours for staff lessons for the past 7 staff meetings before the B&W Ball Head opened up the private lessons to the general public. I'll see if I can get our awesome note-taker at the meetings to include it on the emails he sends out in the future.

[SOawesomeness]

The dance lessons were moved because the General Programming Division Head was working with Dance to utilize the J (where the B&W Ball's dance lessons were previously held) for other programming.  The lack of printed schedules impacted the attendance of the lessons as well as the fact that all the lessons were held in the Fairmont. But I think it's nice to have all that space to practice in without having to bump into people while trying to remember where your foot is supposed to go next.

I've made announcements about the hours for staff lessons for the past 7 staff meetings before the B&W Ball Head opened up the private lessons to the general public. I'll see if I can get our awesome note-taker at the meetings to include it on the emails he sends out in the future.

Yeah, I did remember that one of the staff emails had mentioned it, but I didn't see it posted anywhere during con. ): I WILL GO NEXT YEAR O:!!! Thanks~~

[White Rose Assassin]

Alfred asked me to rank the ballroom dances through the years. I've been going since the very beginning. This is how I see it.

1. Fanime 2010 - great demos, nice atmosphere, lots of room on the dance floor, great mix of different genres of dance, awesome music selection, nice balance between otaku prom and a PEERs-esque ball
Brad DeMoss wrote on his Facebook, "The Black & White Ball is now officially THE reason to attend FanimeCon!"

2. Fanime 2009 -  great demos, nice atmosphere, spacious dance floor, people had issues with the dance floor, music selection was nice (save for metal macarena...a few seemed less romantic and out of place)

3. Fanime 2011 - So-so set list, small room, nice decor, dress code enforced, lots of water, dance lessons, felt more like a junior high dance than a ball (assume the high school position!)

4. Fanime 2007 - Conga lines, nice set list, dark room, kept crashing into the conga line

5. Fanime 2008 - No water, dark room, not much of an enforcement, long line to get in, smells like teen fanboy, zombie macarena still gives me nightmares

Someone mentioned something about shoes for the ladies. I don't know if this is worth suggesting, but is there a way we can discourage girls from wearing super stilettos? I got heeled during the dance and when high heel meets foot, it hurts like hell. Just wanted to add that in to prevent and accidents.

[Okach]

Thanks for the feedback!

[unluckycharm13]

Hi everyone,

I am glad to have come back for this year's Black and White Ball as an Instructor and Assistant and hope to come back next year. I was pretty satisfied with this year's B&W Ball. But from a volunteer's perspective, I would like to give some feedback:

- At the door,there was some inconsistencies about whether people should be able to come back into the room after going to the bathroom. One person I worked with stated that people could go back, another person said that this was not okay. I believe that attendees should be allowed bathroom breaks due to the duration of the Ball and how hot the room got due to so many people in the room at once. Perhaps we could make laminated bathroom passes or offer some other solution to this issue?
- Also at the door, in order to make enforcing the "no stiletto rule" easier, I suggest that we have a ruler on hand. I found it difficult to keep track of who was going in and trying to check everyone's shoes and clothing at the same time.
- I thought the demos were great and gave people a chance to rest and hydrate.
- I'm praying that we get a bigger room next year.
- For those who did not care for this year's music, please suggest songs that you would want to be played at next year's B&W Ball.

Constructive feedback would be greatly appreciated.

-Elizabeth 

[NekoMiki]

Someone mentioned something about shoes for the ladies. I don't know if this is worth suggesting, but is there a way we can discourage girls from wearing super stilettos? I got heeled during the dance and when high heel meets foot, it hurts like hell. Just wanted to add that in to prevent and accidents.

A new rule was added into the dress code about stilettos (defined as any shoe with a heel that comes to a point).  This was more about the dangers of the small gaps in the floor though.  Heels in general (flat, flared, etc.) are allowed regardless (although I don't remember if there was limit in height...whatever you can handle I suppose). Getting heeled by any type of heel hurts like hell anyway, heh.

Also, thank you for the ranking!  It is highly appreciated.

[(GG)Nami_Misaki]

From my 2 experiences of the Black and White Ball of 2010 and 2011, 2011 was great, though I have to agree that the music was a bit off for a "Ball". A Ball is NOT a dance. But everything else was pretty nice, despite the small room. But the "Forget You" song wasn't...so formal. If it was a pop, then it would have to be an anime/j-pop genre of music. Dance lessons seemed pretty good, though private lessons is a must as well because some people may not have the time at home to look on online tutorials. But the ups about it was that the room was not so bad, beautiful decors and all. And the staff there were pretty nice, with dress codes and all. By god, 2010 ball staff, well this one girl in particular was absolutely RUDE. She was the rudest person I've ever met, and she literally had an ATTITUDE with everyone that wasn't formal. She, herself was not formal at all. I'm so glad they had nicer people that enforce the code correctly and politely. Though, I do agree rovers were a bit mean to the press, but they are just doing their job to try keeping things in hand. Anyway, it was slightly better this year, and the staff were definitely more polite. Music was alright, though needs to not have so many modern pop music, needs more music that people can ballroom dance to. I found that some of them were so hard to dance to...and even keep up.

2011 Ball ups: Beautiful decorations, video dance tutorials, some music, staff was nicer than last year.
2011 Ball downs: Semi-small room, modern pop (not japanese pop or anime genre or ballroom music), needed to have private lessons for some who don't have time at home to learn it.

Hope to get a bigger room next year with even better music!!! <3

[Wabbit98]

We did have private lessons both Friday night and Saturday night.

-Kevin

[obito916]

 I was very upset with the ball this year. I've been every year for 3 years and never have I been as upset as I was this year. I got to the foot of the stairs with three others and we were booted because of our all black vans because they have rubber soles, we were dressed very nice with tie and all. The rover who also booted us was rather rude might I add, I mentioned that this was a joke and left. Those same shoes I have worn the last three years and never was it a problem, it would have been nice for the rover at the end of the line to tell us this before we waited nearly an hour in line. I overlooked everything else that was off this year but the ball is by far my favorite every year. I hope to see this rectified next year, not all of us own dress shoes and are willing to spend the money for them, for one occasion a year.
 

[SpiritOfKairi]

This was my first ball, and I thought it was pretty good.  I enjoyed the music, the politness of the other attendees who were willing to teach me the dances I didn't know, and the demonstrations during the dance.  It's just unfortunate that the dance floor had to be repaired during, but I think the staff made up for that with the improv thing while the tiles were being put back together.  But overall, I don't have many complaints.  People were dressed well, there was plenty of water, and from what I could tell, many people were having a great time (including myself).  Only other criticisms I have to offer are 1) the room was a little cramped and 2) the freedom to go to the bathroom without having to wait in line to get back in would have been nice.  A friend of mine had to go but didn't want to wait in line again, so he wound up holding it in for about 1 1/2 hours (without complaint, though, since he was having a blast).

[yukiko_no_niwa]

This was my first B&W Ball this year and I would say it was so-so.

The theme and dress code were very much appreciated as it kept the atmosphere and overall look of the ball formal like it should be.
The room was small, even by my standards. When I was dancing the waltz with my partner, we kept running into people which made it difficult to enjoy the moment. I nearly got stepped on once.
And the line to get in. I felt sorry for everyone who had to wait outside to get in when I left around 9:30. I arrived a little after 7 and got the light end of the line. It was also a little unfair to not let people back in who just needed to go to the bathroom.
Though I had nothing against the choice of music suggestions by the attendees, some of the music I found a little off base with the theme of the ball. Some of the instrumental versions of songs were nicely selected from video games and anime, but other songs didn't go with the theme of dance in my opinion. If we did do vocal, it should be kept with the theme and not be modern pop music.
The demos were nice, but should be limited one per dance form.
The amount of liquids available was good.

Though there are things that could've been better, I still had a good first experience at the Ball.

[Okach]

Jim has posted a formal response to the BWBall feedback thread on Facebook, but I see that he hasn't done so here yet.  Jim?

[tkdteo]

Jim has posted a formal response to the BWBall feedback thread on Facebook, but I see that he hasn't done so here yet.  Jim?

Pushy, pushy.  . I will post a response to things later this week.

- Jim

[le_momo]

Jim has posted a formal response to the BWBall feedback thread on Facebook, but I see that he hasn't done so here yet.  Jim?

Pushy, pushy.  . I will post a response to things later this week.

- Jim

Thanks, Jim!

[tkdteo]

Alright, going to try and post a response now, please let me know if I forget anything so I can make sure I address everything.

First off, thank you everyone for coming out to the BWBall this year.  I know there were a lot of hit and misses at the BWBall but I think overall, it was a good evening.  So here goes:

Masquerade vs. BWBall - With the weekend being so crammed full of events, we had to try to fit in the events the best we could.  Some people were upset that Mas. and BWBall were at the same time this year but because of that, we extended BWBall by an hour just in case anyone who was not tired from Mas. could come over and enjoy the Ball for an hour or two.  I think it Mas. got out around 10:30 or so... not sure.

The size of the ballroom - This year, we were not able to secure the Imperial Ballroom so we were given the Regency Ballroom.  We did what we could to accommodate the number of people attending the BWBall.  But due to the smaller room and capacity, we had to limit the amount of people in the room so this caused a long line to form.  We are working on addressing this for next year.  One observation I made though, is that even if we did have the Imperial Ballroom this year, the capacity of the room would still cause a line to form outside of the event.  

The dance floor - Believe it or not, the dance floor this year was only shorter than last year's dancefloor by 3 feet, width wise.  Other than that it was the same dimensions as last year.  It may seem smaller due to the fact that we were in a smaller room but it was almost the same size as last year. The dance floor was from the same company as last year.  They assured me that if they come back next year, they will bring tools to make sure that the dance floor does not separate.  The main reason that the floor separated was because people were jumping on stomping on the dance floor.  This is one of the reason why I try to break up groups of people who are "stomp" dancing in a circle

Music - There has been a lot of talk about this.  So every year we post up a thread for requests for music if anyone wants a particular song played at BWBall.  Due to needing to have the slides up and matching the title of music, we have to have the playslist done early.  Many suggestions came in 1-2 weeks before the BWBall.  This makes it extremely difficult to screen music, cut music, and fit it into our playlist.  Also, on the threads, although there a lot of suggestions, many of the songs that were suggested were not danceable in a ballroom sense.  Many of the waltz and tangos that were suggested were Vianeze Waltz and Argentine Tango.  Although Argentine Tango was taught during the weekend it is a hard dance to pick up.  We did't have lessons for V. Waltz so we did not put it in.  But do keep in mind that we are always looking for good music to dance to, so please post on the forums if you have any suggestions.  

Playlist - There was an issue of having pop music in our playlist.  At FanimeCon we try to cater to everyone's choice in music.  We are here to have fun and encourage a safe and entertaining environment where people can dance and enjoy themselves.  So with that said, we tried to get a mix of different music in there.  The playlist from this year and last year are posted on the forums and you can compare them.  This year, there were less pop songs than last year.  Also, if you go out to the ballrooms around this area such as Dance Boulevard or Star Lite Dance, they play a mix of classical dances as well as more recent popular music.  

Rovers - Rovers and BWBall staff this year, worked together to ensure a safe and fun environment for everyone.  There was a bit of communication breakdown between the two departments,but I felt that the Rovers did a good job.  We will work on resolving the issue of having to go to the back of the line for bathroom breaks and photos for next year.  

Demonstrations - So there was some confusion as to why we were having demos this year.  Some people felt that we were showing off and that the demos did not have a place at the BWBall.  There were a couple of reasons for this, the demos were there to entertain.  Many of the instructors and assistants have been dancing for months to a few years so it was to show what you could do if you stuck with dance lessons and kept going.  It was also put there so people can get a break and get water and use the restroom and things if needed.  Also, it was used to clear the dance floor so we could get ready for a mixer.  We had 3 sets of demos this year.  1st set was followed by the Foxtrot mixer, 2nd set was followed by a Swing mixer, and the last set was more of a break to allow anyone from Masquerade to come in and get situated.  

Shoes - Shoes have become an increasing issue over the years.  People wear shoes for show and after dancing in them for a while, their feet hurt and they try to dance on the dance floor without shoes.  This is an accident waiting to happen so that is why we require shoes at all times. Sneakers and rubber soled shoes have been marking up the dance floor, they tend to leave marks on the dance floor and sneakers tend to grip the dance floor so more chances of accidents happening.  Heels like stillettos leave marks on the dance floor and indentations in the wood.  Also, the dancefloor is not one long piece of wood, there are gaps in between and if you have a small heel they can get stuck and cause an accident.  Height of the heel is an issue too, if you cannot balance well on the heel or turn on the heel it can lead to accidents.  The higher the heel, the more chances of a twisted ankle or foot injury.  The shoe requirements will be more visible next year so please keep your eyes out for them

Line of Dance - This is an issue every year. People are reminded about it at the lessons every year but a majority of people do not attend the lessons to hear it.  Announcements were made this year also but alas, not everyone was following it and it was hard to follow it due to overcrowding on the dance floor.

Venue - This year we had the dance lessons and the BWBall in the same place.  In previous years we had it in the J Ballroom in the convention center.  Every year, the convention grows and we have to make space for other events.  This year there was an event going on in the J Ballroom during the daytime.  Also, by having the dance lessons at the Fairmont that allowed us to have more dance lessons and private lessons later on in the day instead of cutting it off at 6pm at night on Friday and Saturday.

I think that is about it for now.  I do have a few questions if anyone wants to answer them it will greatly help out for next year's event.

1) How do we get more music suggestions?
2) What would work better for you, smaller room with a ballroom feel (less people can fit in there so there will be a line) or a larger room or building where everyone can fit in but the acoustics for the music may be off and there is not quaint ballroom feel (no line though)
3) What dances do you want to see more of?

[eHash]

Venue - This year we had the dance lessons and the BWBall in the same place.  In previous years we had it in the J Ballroom in the convention center.  Every year, the convention grows and we have to make space for other events.  This year there was an event going on in the J Ballroom during the daytime.  Also, by having the dance lessons at the Fairmont that allowed us to have more dance lessons and private lessons later on in the day instead of cutting it off at 6pm at night on Friday and Saturday.

I think this worked out very well!

[Kuudere]

For how to get more music suggestions, I would recommend using your Facebook outlet for that. Get together with whoever runs the main Fanime Facebook page, and have them make periodic status announcements asking for requests. I think you'll get more of a response through that than through the forums, but both should definitely be used. Many people get discouraged when they find they have to sign up for things like forums to get their opinion across (no idea why, but I know a few friends who don't want to bother with it), so bringing everything to a source they use would probably help.

[Okach]

re: FB page - that'd be us, too . 

re: lessons - the major disconnect was that there really wasn't anything to point people to lessons until late Friday in terms of handouts/advertising...

[Ruiichu]

Uhms.. i dont mean to be a drag down... but... honestly... i think that the music didnt fit some of the themes... like i remember for this waltz song some kind of japanese country artist person came on... and it didnt remotely sound like waltz at all xD... Is there no way to get more popular songs? sorry again for this lame feedback xD;