FANIMECON DANCE 2011 FEEDBACK

[eHash]

Please Use this thread only for feedback for the 2011 Dance and suggestions for 2012, so that it can directed to the right people.

Good afternoon. As the 2011 FanimeCon Dance Co-Head, I am looking to get more productive
feedback about our 2011 event and soliciting suggestions for next year.  The 2012 Dance head
has not been selected yet; this feedback will be provided to the 2012 staff(so past efforts
won't be wasted).

Basic Information (what people may not know):
- The 2011 Dance was held in 2 locations, The Hilton Market Room and the J Ballroom of the
  convention center.
- The dance started earlier to accomodate additional DJs.
- The budget for the dance was (is) significantly limited to covering the substantial cost of the tech
  and facilities of the J (since we need to use Union approved equipment suppliers and contractors)
- DJs, Staff, and volunteers are not paid, but their badge/membership/liability coverage represents
  a cost to con.
- DJ equipment in the J Ballroom and Hilton Market Room for provided for use by the co-head of dance.
- Sound and Lighting equipment in the Hilton Market Room were provided for use without cash payment
  and at the owner's risk.

Feedback Area 1 (Multiple Rooms)

Lessons learned from this year were that
- the Hilton Market room draws people if promoted, but is still too far from the main con floor
   to draw enough people to make it truly successful
- The Hilton Market room opened too early and represented more of a nuisance to restaraunt patrons
   than a benefit to the con attendees.

Specific Questions:
- Should there continue to be multiple dance rooms?
- Should it return to being Hip Hop/Top 40s only or 18+?
- Why did/didn't you check out the Hilton Market Room in 2011?

Feedback Area 2 (Headliners)

Lessons learned from this year were that
- Headliners must represent a fiscal benefit to the con (meaning the draw or return must be a
   direct reflection of an increased number of attendees who come to con to see this guest rather
   than regular attendees.
- If people want headliners (like hardcore synergy/red alice/etc) they must provide that direct
   feedback to upper-con management through the form of a suggestion card at con or feedback emails.

Specific Questions:
- How will a headliner DJ benefit the con (not the dance)?
- Why should money be spent on a headliner dj versus an anime-related panel guest or musicfest artist?

Feedback Area 3 (Misc)
What improvements from the previous years' dances to you like?
what changes did you not like?
what other fedback can you provide?

[abcbadcat]

LESS HARDSTYLE

MORE Electro/House/Dubstep


PLEASEEEE



Also, not being able to use small/regular sized glowsticks in the dance was terrible :\

[eHash]

>Also, not being able to use small/regular sized glowsticks in the dance was terrible :\

This was a miscommunication on Sat. Glowsticks were allowed back in on Sunday

[abcbadcat]

>Also, not being able to use small/regular sized glowsticks in the dance was terrible :\

This was a miscommunication on Sat. Glowsticks were allowed back in on Sunday

Oh it was just Saturday that happened? Being sore and assuming I would not being able to use my glow sticks kept me from going back to the dance on Sunday


And since this is the feedback thread, I'll respond to you from the other topic here as well

when we solicited feedback for 2010, most people said NO Dubstep, Asian Pop, HipHop/Top40s.
I went out on a limb this year booking Asian Pop, playing HipHop/Top40s...
If I'm on the dance staff for 2012 I promise we'll be looking into dubstep again.

The dubstep scene from 2010 to 2011 has grown significantly. I do agree that a full hour of dubstep is over kill but a mixture with some DnB, other styles, or a dubstep remix of an anime song or more well known electronic track would be very much appreciated.

I personally would not be a fan of Hip Hop/Top40s for the Fanime dance as it's more of an electronic feel. If some perfume or an SNSD remix played, I would be very hype for that. Also, electro/house would probably mesh very well with the style/feel of Fanime and the Fanime dance.


I do not have DJ equipment but I do "DJ" for SJSU's radio station, KSJS, and play electronic music. I wish I had the equipment and skill to DJ for the dance but hopefully I can apply for Fanime 2013 (or maybe even learn Virtual DJ/Traktor like a pro by the end of the summer. Would a strictly laptop "DJ/mixer" be allowed?

[lonemeditater]

I know dubstep was already mentioned here, but I feel the need to mention it again, for emphasis. I was a little disappointed to go raving twice without hearing any dubstep. I also didn't hear much asian pop, which I was kind of expecting, but I guess that's my fault for assuming things.
First FanimeCon raves, I was dissapoint -_-...

[kookiekween99]

I went to the smaller room on Saturday at around 5-ish... I felt scared at first because it was so bright in there and there were only like, two people on the floor. I was like, "OMG. Everyone's going to be looking at me with me poor shuffling skills. >_<" So I invited some of my friends in, and I felt a little more comfortable.

I knew I was a little dehydrated beforehand, so I made sure to try and drink a lot of water. And I mean a lot. Big mistake. After half an hour (I can usually dance for at least an hour, no problem), I got really tired and had to sit down. My friends asked if I was okay, and I said I wasn't quite sure. After a few minutes of resting, I felt really nauseous. My friends decided to help me back to our room. We were heading toward the elevator, but I didn't think I would make it.

I saw a trash can next to the drinking station in the lobby, and I decided to throw up in it rather than in the elevator. I immediately felt better after I threw up, but my friends insisted I go upstairs to lay down anyway. One friend helped me upstairs while the other searched for a member of either Hilton or Fanime staff to inform about the trash can so it could be changed rather than just sit there and smell.


Another note about when I went on Saturday: There was no one at the door. I wasn't quite sure I was in the right place because there was no one there to check my badge. I get that there was only a handful of people there, but I still felt like there should have been someone there. When I went back on Sunday, there was someone there.

When I was looking for the Market Room, Info Desk by the Hilton and Maid Cafe told me it was in the Hilton somewhere and that it didn't start until 7. Pretty vague. >_>; I knew he was wrong about the time since I had the schedule printed out back in my room, but I said thank you and walked off to try and find it myself. After I got very lost, I went back and asked the very same person, and he told me it was down in the Hilton lobby, which was a bit more helpful. He tried to tell me once again that it didn't start until 7, so then I showed him on the schedule right in front of him that it did indeed start at 4. I found it kinda sad that I knew more than him, but I didn't really make a big issue out of it.


I went back to the Market Room Dance on Sunday around 11, and I had a blast. My friend and I stayed until the end of Dark0's set. He played at least two S3RL songs, which made me freak out with joy. ;D We made sure to rest when we were tired and only take in as much water as we needed. I did not want a repeat of the previous night. We had so much fun, with no bad incidents. I wanted to request a song, but I didn't know if Dark0 took requests, plus I'm really shy, so I didn't.


Overall, what I saw of the Dance was a pretty fun experience, aside from making myself sick. My friends thought I was crazy because I wanted to get back in there. :P "But there's so many epic beats I'm missing at this very moment!"


Oh yeah, and I just want to add in some defense of Hardstyle/Hardcore/Happy Hardcore/etc. I love it so much! <3


Sorry for all the text here! I just wanted to share my experience! :3

[questionette]

I LOVED the dances.  There were a few djs that didn't bring as much oomf as they could have, but all in all I had a fun time.  Especially after getting a pair of gloves from the dealer's room :D  I do think more electro/house could have been played, since those are the dance genres that a lot of ravers are used to in the scene, but I honestly can't complain too hard because I was able to dance for five hours straight and forget about time all together.

[DJ Reign]

In the defense of Electro House not being played or lack thereof, I played it for 2 straight hours in the Market room Friday night from 12am - 2am, and I played some more on Sunday between 7pm - 10pm.

Also, it's kind of hard to make a case for dubstep by saying that it's on the rise when damn near everyone I talk to about dubstep either dislikes it, hates it, or can't stand 5 minutes of it.  And I talk to A LOT of people.

[eHash]

thanks reign!
electro house and asian pop both had a lot of hours.  people complain..but look at the schedule.
unlike other departments..our schedule was printed on page 26 (the centerfold) of the program guide.

[questionette]

Hey I was wondering...who were the guys taking pictures at the dance? They got quite a few of me and I'm interested in seeing them :P

[Skyline]

LESS HARDSTYLE

I actually disagree.  Everyone needs to get a little hardcore once in a while :3

[eHash]

the photographers were officially with the dance so I couldn't tell you.  check the member posted photo galleries.

[Aeredon]

Would like more dubstep, dnb, and MOOMBAH!

[abcbadcat]

LESS HARDSTYLE

I actually disagree.  Everyone needs to get a little hardcore once in a while :3

Happy hardcore is legit :P

[Skyline]

After half an hour (I can usually dance for at least an hour, no problem), I got really tired and had to sit down. My friends asked if I was okay, and I said I wasn't quite sure. After a few minutes of resting, I felt really nauseous. My friends decided to help me back to our room. We were heading toward the elevator, but I didn't think I would make it.

This is no joke, folks.  I experienced this myself, both at con and at various rave events.  Once that adrenaline dies down it's a runaway train, you'd be surprised how fast that crash is.  Even five minutes of cooldown time makes a big difference.

[GoodAsianDriver]

I was asked not to play any dubstep but I played some here and there-- especially when you fanboys asked for it (sorry, Erik. ;p). As a Dj during those moments, it was clear the crowd wasn't digging the dubstep. I think what we may be able to do in the future is to introduce wobbles for 20 second shifts if the dj is skilled enough, and then get the regular kick-snare thumping again so as not to loose people from the floor. Though I'm not sure if those 20 second shifts are long enough for the dubstep fanboys. What do you dubstep-heads think?

I played an ss501 dubstep/deadmau5 remix of Love ya, and that pretty much cleared the floor... even with a kpop/deadmau5 crowd. There were a couple times I dropped a dubstep section remix of Big Bang's "Tonight" and you could see everyone kind of looking around going: "wat wat? D:"

[GoodAsianDriver]

I do not have DJ equipment but I do "DJ" for SJSU's radio station, KSJS, and play electronic music. I wish I had the equipment and skill to DJ for the dance but hopefully I can apply for Fanime 2013 (or maybe even learn Virtual DJ/Traktor like a pro by the end of the summer. Would a strictly laptop "DJ/mixer" be allowed?

If I'm brought back as a dj next year, I'd be willing to share my latptop and mixer gear with ya. I use traktor and I spin at the rival college radio station, KSCU 103.3fm. As a fellow radio dj though, you should know that there's a big difference between radio playing and playing for a live crowd. FYI. I recommend practicing at house parties and for friends first. :)

I went back to the Market Room Dance on Sunday around 11, and I had a blast. My friend and I stayed until the end of Dark0's set. He played at least two S3RL songs, which made me freak out with joy. ;D We made sure to rest when we were tired and only take in as much water as we needed. I did not want a repeat of the previous night. We had so much fun, with no bad incidents. I wanted to request a song, but I didn't know if Dark0 took requests, plus I'm really shy, so I didn't.

I've worked with Dj Dark0 before. I'm pretty sure he would have been happy to hear your request, and your excitement for his mixing. Don't be afraid to ask! Btw, he and I spin at a house party about every month or so if you're interested..

[eHash]

no offense taken peter; you already went out on a limb playing kpop and kpop/mashups, i wouldn't want the overall impression of you to have been the dj that played what everybody didn't want/expect to hear.  Each DJ could play what they wanted when it was all said and done.  Everyone was warned that dubstep had a very horrible response from the masses, and those in the forum that are adamant about it, remember we have to cater to all and not just you.  Lots of DJs attempted dub step here and there including myself (i dropped the dubstep remix of turbulence and left the dubstep break of britney in)....we even broke the format and played hip hop by request on sunday. 

Never be afraid to request a song, just don't be offended if the dj doesn't have it or play it.  I mean, the worst that can happen is that they don't play it.  However, try not to request a song that was just played (in case you were wondering why certain kpop songs got repeated 3 times in an hour in the 2nd room)

[DJ Dark0]

First off, I'd like to thank everyone for coming out to see my set Saturday night.  It was off the hook for all two hours and I owe it all to everyone in attendance as well as the dance staff for giving me the opportunity.  Also, it was awesome seeing some people sneak into the Market room to catch some of my sets.

Making an EDM line-up becomes harder and harder as the years go by.  As the times change, music also changes and you get people with much stronger affinities for certain genres of EDM.  So we're always going to have folks who 'hate' or 'love' genres.  The most important thing is that we strive to please as many parties as possible.

I play hardcore in its fullest spectrum along with darker tinged drum & bass.  'Happy' hardcore, ever since 2008, has been on a complete downward spiral as far as bookings and overall respect for the genre.  Drum & Bass has also been on the decline albeit a much slower progression in favor of half-tempo Drumstep and slower BPM Dubstep.  What I'm trying to say here is that times change and whether you are a party-goer or a deejay, we are always going to like what we like and that in itself is very important. And by saying this, this is a convention and there are going to be more types of people here besides your typical EDM snob thus making said notion even more important.

In the defense of those who really hoped to hear popular anime opening themes and the such, I have to say I whole-heartedly agree with this notion and that we should strive to find skilled talent in this realm.  We need to find not only deejays that can beat-match and make mash-ups of these songs but also be able to make fantastic and interesting mixes while not being able to match the beats because of highly varying BPMs.

In the future, I think the most important changes would have to be better genre coverage as well as timeslot lengths that make more sense.  Longer times for deejays who have spun at Fanime before (if they happen to be chosen again), peak-time spots being an hour and a half to two hours while others being the traditional hour long.  By having more hour long spots, we'll be able to fit in more genres, thus pleasing more people.

Tell me what you guys think.

[Training]

Extraordinary dances, just bring u into the vibe... I would love to hear more house beats but it was a fun experience so congratulations!