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@lilfry14 - Why yes, "Haven't Had Enough" is an excellent swing song. (WCS perfomance song in 2012) ;).

 :)

Please check to make sure that these are dress code friendly.  We'd hate for someone to find out at the door that they're not.

Check out the playlist from this year to see if your request made it! :)

http://forums.fanime.com/index.php/topic,19570.0.html

For those of you who were able to attend (or not able to attend, as the case may be) to the Black & White Ball, until the main feedback thread is set up for FanimeCon, please email [email protected] with the subject "Black & White Ball Feedback" to ensure your confidentiality.  We will not read anything posted as a response here or in a thread other than the main FanimeCon feedback thread on the fanime.com forums.  We would like information from you about these topics.

A)  If you ran into an issue at the Ball or the front door (i.e. dress code) that could involve a staffer -

     1)  Did you interact with a staffer(s)? 
     2)  Are you able to describe who the staffer(s) were if the answer to 1) is a yes?
     3)  If the situation did not resolve in your favor (i.e. removal or denied entry) was the reason understandable?
     4)  Did you feel that you were treated well by the staff?
     5)  Were you able to find a staffer if you needed to?
     
B)  Dress code
     1)  Did you read the dress code?  Did you understand the dress code fully?
     2)  If you had any questions about the dress code, did you email [email protected] or post to the fanime.com forums or Facebook?  Did you get an answer?  Did you understand the answer?  If you did not understand the answer, did you ask a staffer?  Were you able to get an answer that you understood?

C)  Entry into the Ball

     1)  Were you stressed out by the wait in line?
     2)  If so, why?  What would help you ease your stress?

D)  General

     1)  Did you enjoy the music?  Why or why not?  Did you know which dance style to use for what song (even if you didn't know the style)?
     2)  Were you able to attend any lessons?  If so, did you enjoy them?  Did you like or dislike your instructors?  Did you like or dislike any styles that were being taught?  Did you have any favorites if you took more than one lesson?  What would you like to see in the lessons (different dance styles, etc.)?
     3)  Did you like the venue?  Did you like the dance floor?  Did you like the atmosphere?  Why or why not?
     4)  Is there anything else that you like or dislike?  What do you suggest to improve the Ball?

So, rather than confuse everyone who reads the pocket guide, we're going to keep the pocket guide schedule of

8PM-9PM Argentine Tango
9PM-10PM West Coast Swing

Thank you and sorry for the confusion!

So, some stuff got misprinted in the pocket schedule and rather than trying to complicate things, the lesson schedule is going to be the same as the pocket guide.

So on Friday:

8-9PM - Argentine Tango
9-10PM - West Coast Swing

Quick post since we always run into errors:

Friday night lesson @ 8pm:  West Coast Swing
Friday night lesson @ 9pm:  Argentine Tango

But of course we want you to take both ;).

There will be NO coat check offered at the Ball itself.  Please do NOT put stuff behind the black curtains or you will be spending way too much time running around the Ball when we want you to be dancing.

No joy, sorry!  But we will be reviewing this thread again.  Maybe next year!

Thank you for all the suggestions so far!  I'm having fun listening to them.  Bad news, though, the cutoff for suggestions for this year's Ball is this Saturday, April 19.  So you got less than a week if you want to hear something in the playlist.  Please continue to use this thread and thanks again!

@echoshadow - Points for Roomful of Blues, one of my favorite bands.

Black and White Ball has its own set of issues, which we are working through  :(.  Keep the feedback and suggestions going!

As for Toms and VANS, both brands are used by swing dancers.  Both do not mark the floor and both have lineups that fulfill the heel requirement.  That's the reason for inclusion.

Hi!  I'm a little groggy from running around for four days and I'm not completely all the way back yet, but I wanted to let you know that we are reading your comments.

First of all, thank you for your feedback - it is part of the process by which we improve the Ball.  A word of warning:  if you claim dance experience in your comment, we will be requesting credentials (video or otherwise) in a PM to you before we weigh what you have to say.  Your real name will not be released in any public way.  We have had issues with people misrepresenting themselves in comments and emails to us over the years.  And since I know someone's going to do it, feel free to PM me for mine with the same consideration for privacy.  For the record, I was the West Coast Swing instructor/demo/Prop Challenge emcee this year.     

Secondly, if you were denied entry or taken out of the Ball due to dress code violations or if the dress code somehow ruined your life even if you were in compliance, our sincerest apologies.  While we cannot expect you to come back to the Ball if this year ruined your experience, we nonetheless extend to you the invitation for next year.  We work through a considerable chunk of the year, some of us throughout the year, some of us despite work or personal tragedy, to bring the Ball to you.  If, however, you decided to act out your frustrations upon being denied entry by taking it out on fellow congoers or Ball staff, that invitation is NOT extended.

Now, the mea culpa part:

We identified several issues in the post-ball review held immediately after. 

First and foremost, enforcement.  One of the people at the door decided to wave in a bunch of noncompliant folks through for an unspecified period of time.  That was negligent, not to mention that some of us apparently did not follow the dress code *grits teeth*.  All of this will be addressed for next year.  Very thoroughly.  As for the dress code itself, please feed back as much as you can.  We are establishing a more thorough review and critique process that will include more public opportunities to comment. 

Second of all, dress code distribution.  Apparently, some folks did not know that there was a dress code despite it being posted on Facebook, here in the forums, in the program guide, and in Parkside.  If any of you have any suggestions as to how to get the word out, please respond here or in the official FanimeCon feedback thread or email [email protected] 

Thirdly, staffing issues.  We ended up with close to 1400 attendees this year (we did not count those we turned away at the door or caught inside)  for which we had under 50 to manage with.  Yikes - we could have used some more eyes.  We will let you know if you have the option to help us even more for next year.


Those were the major ones.  If you have any others, please feel free to post in the feedback threads, email [email protected], etc.

Now, the commentary section:

As previously described in posts here in the forums, the dress code exists for several reasons. I will address health and safety of congoers as well as floor damage, since these are the ones that motivate the heel of the shoe section of the dress code, which this year wins the Most Controversial award. 

While we would like to think that everyone on the floor looks where they're going and are watching out for each other, the truth of the matter is that for a beginner level dance event like the Ball, accidents do happen at a greater than zero rate.  One of the most common accidents is getting your foot stepped on.  While getting your foot trod on by a normal flat may have some initial pain, it generally goes away after a while unless it's a really heavy step (platform boots, cough, which is why it's in the code) or is accompanied by a kick in the shins (which hurts MUCH more).  However, if the shoe is a heel, you have the chance of either a puncture or a scratch which is not fun if it breaks the skin, even more if it punches through and severs the tendon (which does happen).   One of us got scratched by a compliant shoe while dancing and we have documented her injury for future dress code posts.   

Our contract with the floor vendor stipulates that any damage over and above normal wear and tear is FanimeCon's responsibility.  This translates to "FanimeCon pays for it."  The floor vendor commented to us that the conventions that he has the most issues of additional damage with are salsa conventions, mainly due to the use of long, thin heels on a lot of people dancing for many hours. 

After much discussion over the years (and much hair pulling) the four inch heel/diameter of a nickel was decided upon as a compromise between fashion and potential cost (injury/floor).  Apparently, a decision was made to relax the nickel rule by using duct tape at the Ball.  I probably would have favored applying the banhammer a LOT more had I been consulted.  Full disclosure:  I'm the direct liaison to the floor vendor - do NOT expect any sympathy from me on this topic if it turns out one of the consequences of this feedback is that I man the door for a time next year.

Apologies for the long and rambling post.  If you have any further feedback, please use the channels provided.  If you need a little more discretion, feel free to PM me.  Thanks!   

Technically, no, because the highest exposure is above your kneecap.  However, see my comment above about slips.

But be sure to show your shoes at the door to the monitors so you're not barred outright :).

On the floor, we encourage partner dances because we've had safety issues with solo dancers stomping on people's feet because they weren't looking where they were going. solo dancing also disrupts the flow of the floor on waltzes and other travelling dances.  There is NO proficiency requirement - you're dancing with a partner on the floor, we aren't bothering you.  You CAN solo dance off the floor.  You can try solo dancing on the floor too, but don't be surprised if you're asked to stop it (as stated in the FAQ). 

fyi - this year we are trying out big posters with the name of the dance on it to help folks...mainly because of cost. 

@rubysky - I'm taking her word for it that it's above her knees since the perspective from her picture makes it hard to tell.

@Akira -

Enchanted is definitely at least a slow West Coast Swing.  Not as good a waltz since it's in 4/4 time.  Lucky is more of a Nightclub Two Step.

@BrianSmith42 - White slip ons are fine as per the "flats" part of the dress code as long as they do not mark the floor and don't look really informal (i.e. fuzzy slippers).  We explicitly state Toms/Vans because we know those brands have non-marking soles but some of the styles are on the borderline of formal.

@KuriQueen - Nope, sorry, the skirt length is a hard requirement.  :(  But, I believe that if you were to wear an opaque slip underneath the skirt that cover up to the knees, you would be allowed in.  Becca may have confirmed that earlier in this thread.