Feedback for the 2009 Black and White Ball and Dance Lessons during Fanime

[jemz]

Yeah since I was doing clothe check on the attendees I did have some slight problems telling if its okay to let them in so it would be nice ot have a backup wit me.

Rovers were handling the clothing check as far as I knew. You should not have had to worry about this as we were checking attire at the door and also vaguely in the lines before the doors opened.

Yeah I see.  I'm gonna do volunteer again next year.  In the past 2 B&W Ball I was assigned to check the clothes on the attandees while they lined up.

Could you PM me who gave you that assignment? I think clarification of who is enforcing the dress code may be something we can improve on for next year.

[Dagger-6]

Also it'd be good to clarify what is and is not acceptable.  In the beginning of the night we weren't allowing tennis shoes and the like but from what I recall, that was changed later in the evening in order to allow more people to attend.

[LordMoufMouf]

A question - can a few dance lessons be held in the evenings at Fanime? I found myself not having any time to make it to the lessons, since I was caught up in cosplay business. However, I had a lot of time to kill in the evenings, and I noticed many other people did too. I know it may not be convenient for instructors, but how about a few lessons available for the night owls?

[jemz]

A question - can a few dance lessons be held in the evenings at Fanime? I found myself not having any time to make it to the lessons, since I was caught up in cosplay business. However, I had a lot of time to kill in the evenings, and I noticed many other people did too. I know it may not be convenient for instructors, but how about a few lessons available for the night owls?

The main reason why there were no evening lessons was due to the space being used for Dance (either setup or a few other things that were going on in there) on all the nights.

But we'll take your suggestion into consideration and see what we can do.

[LordMoufMouf]

Thank you. I absolutely love dance (I do ballet), but as a cosplayer I found myself with rather little time to attend the lessons, since most of my outfits would not be suitable for the lessons, and getting in and out of cosplays takes a huge amount of time, since I have to restyle wigs and do makeup. I guess I'll just have to try harder to get some time to attend them next year.

[OniCourseMusha]

And also if anyone spot me they are welcome to ask if they would like to learn how to Waltz, Swing, and other such.  I pretty much taught few people in my spare time.

[Drk-X]

If a location could be secured and a break for dinner be given, I would be more than happy to run evening classes.

[Kertus]

I agree heartily about evening classes, although next year I'm making sure to attend the ones in the day when I can squeeze it into my schedule  :D

[Liquid]

Also it'd be good to clarify what is and is not acceptable.  In the beginning of the night we weren't allowing tennis shoes and the like but from what I recall, that was changed later in the evening in order to allow more people to attend.

This was rough because a majority of the male attendees were dressed really nice, but had on tennis shoes. They were nice tennis shoes that went well with the outfits though, so we usually let those people in. If we had not, there would have been a ton of guys turned away.

If they weren't nice shoes and not in good condition, they were turned away immediately.

I think that possibly the dress code should be modified next year to allow nice tennis shoes. From what I understand there are a lot of kids in the age group attending that collect and buy really nice expensive tennis shoes and usually that's all they wear.

[DentyneIce408]

What is and is not acceptable?

I know for a fact what I wore wasn't acceptable but that's the only thing I had at the time. I'll come prepared next year.
Nobody seemed to stop me, when I entered. :P

[boots01]

as far as shoes go, for guys, we really want people wearing nice, dress shoes.  barring that, a nice pair of sketchers (or similar) might be acceptable.  keep in mind that the idea here is for your outfit to be formal, and that includes shoes.  with the turnout we continue to have for the ball, we may have to look at enforcing the dress code more strictly.  this will mean a closer look at shoes and other articles of clothing.  for 2008 and 2009, the people checking the dress code were given some leeway as to shoes.  if someone was wearing solid, dark colored tennis shoes (including soles), and the shoes went well with the outfit (didn't stand out) and were in good condition, they were likely to be allowed in.  we did this in order to enable more people to attend. 

we will have work on having the dress code posted both on the forums and the website for next year.

[Liquid]

we will have work on having the dress code posted both on the forums and the website for next year.

And a sign at the door? Yes? Please?  ;D

[boots01]

we actually have a sign but i forgot to have someone grab it before heading over the the fairmont >.< sorry

[Liquid]

we actually have a sign but i forgot to have someone grab it before heading over the the fairmont >.< sorry

Oh, no problem. I really only had one big issue in which it coulda came in handy. A lady was trying to argue with me that she had read that formal attire was an option and not a requirement. She wouldn't believe me. Luckily one of the guys in our group had a copy of the rules in his pocket, but she was pissed, lol. (Really her own fault though for misreading the posted rules.)

[DentyneIce408]

^Do tell what she wore. I also thought the dress code was optional.

[Liquid]

^Do tell what she wore. I also thought the dress code was optional.

I do not remember, however I vaguely remember the color red? So maybe a red shirt? It seemed to me that she was trying to get some younger guy inside (who had street clothes on: jeans and a t-shirt?) (She looked like someone's mom.) Was that guy you?

[DentyneIce408]

Nope, I wore a traditional kimono and wore sandals. But this two girls I went with including a friend said it was okay, as long as it was traditional. I even brought along a prop.  :P

But next year I'll properly dress up in the right attire. 

[Liquid]

Nope, I wore a traditional kimono and wore sandals. But this two girls I went with including a friend said it was okay, as long as it was traditional. I even brought along a prop.  :P

But next year I'll properly dress up in the right attire. 

Yes, I believe it was said on the forums that Kimonos were approved attire.

[Okach]

My background:  Longtime West Coast Swing competitive dancer with many many conventions gone to, helped with, etc.  sometime instructor.  dance enthusiast in general.  

Wow, looks like I'm coming back to FanimeCon next year.  It's a far cry from getting my dance class getting scheduled and rescheduled until only three people appeared @ FanimeCon years back :P.  

Commenting on comments since I wasn't there this year.  Forgive my indulgence:

For an event with random people that demonstrates unique skill, you have to come up with a set of all encompassing rules and broadcast them as long and as often as possible.  This means etiquette, dress code, what have you being posted everywhere and staff enforcing it because guess what, you will always have people who blunder through.  Assuming most people who go to formal dances don't go there to derive fun from spoiling others', ignorance is the leading cause of the etiquette grumbling.

Dress code - People commend a strict dress code because it adds to the atmosphere and criticize it because it pretty much restricts the event to people who have the right outfit.  It depends on what the spirit of the ball is...whatever's decided, stick to it.  Mushiness begets blundering a la my previous comments.  

Dance floor - Any dance floor that's laid down on top of hotel carpet is not going to have any real give in of itself.  The hotel floor mountings are going to determine whether there's any give for knees.  If the carpet's mounted on the slab directly, kami-sama help us all. The floor that's used for WCS conventions typically consists of panels that fit together with no seams and with edges that blend in, as well as being waterproofed.  A floor gets sticky in a humid environment, i.e. lots of people sweating.  Any WCS routine/comp clips on youtube will show the floor.  Barring further developments, I think this is the perfect floor.  Here's the site:  http://www.americanportabledancefloors.com/about.shtml.  As for capacity, rule of thumb is that a dance floor at any time can accommodate three quarters of the people in the room.    

Food - Hotel contracts with events typically specify that outside food cannot be SOLD in the hotel.  Theoretically, unless the Fanimecon contracts person was seriously out to lunch that day, outside food CAN be brought in by the event.  We've had pizza parties as well as alcoholic get togethers at events sponsored by the event with no complaints by the hotel.  What does this mean?  Someone with a car, budget and Costco card can easily provide munchies under the aegis of event preference.

Dancers' needs - Fundamentally, water, air circulation and a place to relax are all you really need.  Of all those, air circulation's the most difficult to provide since hotels don't like running air conditioners in large rooms due to electricity expenses.  Unless you're in real good with the hotel facilities person, provide hand fans!  Advertisement and useful all in one!  Failing that, drag in a few high output fans if you're willing to sacrifice formality for comfort.

Classes to teach - I'm of the opinion that all partner dances are about the connection between partners.  It adds to the enjoyment of the dance to have good connection.  So, I'd like to see some sort of connection workshop for next year.

Music - The mantra: different people like different music.  Some scheme of getting instructors' lists of songs combined with a dancer appointed as filter for requests would probably minimize grumbling.

[boots01]

Food - Hotel contracts with events typically specify that outside food cannot be SOLD in the hotel.  Theoretically, unless the Fanimecon contracts person was seriously out to lunch that day, outside food CAN be brought in by the event.  We've had pizza parties as well as alcoholic get togethers at events sponsored by the event with no complaints by the hotel.  What does this mean?  Someone with a car, budget and Costco card can easily provide munchies under the aegis of event preference.

While food and drink can be brought in to an event, the event will have to pay a corkage fee.  This fee can be extremely high depending on the location and what is being brought in.