I also want to thank the staff members for improving on the ball event so much this year. It was really fun and awesome, definitely better than last year's event. :] I don't think there's too much I have to say without echoing some of the common comments others have posted already...but I do agree enough on the unnecessary crowding on the dance floors to mention in my post as well. There really were too many people who weren't even dancing crowding up the floor. Must be my biggest annoyance in general on the dance floor. One of the few disappointments for me personally was that we couldn't really waltz at all because it was just too darn crowded. Out of maybe five attempts, we managed to make only one round on the floor without too much bumper car-ing around. Also looking around, I think a lot of couples were kind of..."shuffle" dancing...the usual prom-waddle-back-and-forth-in-place slow dance? I absolutely have nothing against that but I think it could help to mention along with the line of dance etiquette that dancers who are more or less stationary or traveling less could stay closer towards the center of the floor so people traveling more have the more expansive area towards the floor's edge to move. I think that's usually how it goes at typical dance parties, but it's kind of left unsaid in those crowds even I forget a lot of people may not know that. I do have my doubts on how effective mentioning that might be though, considering the sheer size of the crowd, but just a suggestion.
Also, as far as the music went, I guess I don't have much to say about the selection. To be honest I'm happy dancing to anything, and I was really there for the dance event more than anything, hehe. The volume was all over the place sometimes though. Maybe if you guys have time for next year's event, you could even out the volumes of each song file with a program so it'll be less problematic once it plays? I do it sometimes for my iPod ;]
Oh, and although it wasn't really a big deal or anything, I did notice that some of the songs were labeled incorrectly on the playlist on the projector. I heard so many cha cha tracks passed as rumba or swing (I'm aware some songs can be interpreted as different dances, but I think sometimes the different tempo made it harder to adjust to, especially for beginners, I noticed). I also recall some foxtrot/rumba mixups too, even quickstep songs passed as swing...just to name a few. I don't suppose it's that much of an issue if people could still pick up the rhythm or if they knew they could dance something else to the song playing, but at times my partner and I would end up walking on and off the floor a bunch of times when we realized what type of song was really playing. Became a bit of a hassle, especially when trying to beat the crowds to get a good spot on the floor, lol.
And just one more thing...more of a question/suggestion, really. I'm just wondering if next year's selection might be able to include at least one song for some of the other common ballroom dances that weren't included in the lesson lineup, like Viennese waltz, quickstep, or samba. I know most of the attendees probably wouldn't know those dances, but some of my friends and I were a little bummed that some of those weren't included. I know they were in there last year (I did catch a few sambas and quicksteps in this year's selection too), probably more often than they should have been played, but I dunno... Would've been fun to be able to dance those at least once. If it's a possibility at all for next year, I think just a small mention somewhere that these dances would be included in the selection in advance wouldn't hurt, to ease on any possible confusion. Maybe people might even be encouraged over the year to take some lessons and learn new dances. Actually, I imagine something like quickstep might be fun for beginners to learn next year. The basic steps shouldn't be any harder than a waltz, maybe it can get thrown in the mix if there's an instructor willing to teach? :] Sorry for being a little long-winded on this note...it's just something I talked to my friend a lot on our way home. A bunch of dance nerds...heehee.
Oh, and I almost forgot one thing I noticed. I saw some people having costume trouble, mostly those with longer trailing garments like coats or gowns. I'm not sure if there were any warnings concerning that, but if there weren't I think it might be very helpful. I did see one unfortunate guy get his long coat get torn when the tail was stepped on by accident.
I think that's the bulk of my thoughts... I did absolutely love our room this year though. Spacious and the floor was excellent. I hated the issues we had with last year's flooring...and the hazards...dear God, but it was great to have like a dancesport-quality floor to dance on this time around. I do wish there was an easy solution to address the crowd size though, but I can't imagine any realistic fixes to that... If anything, I just hope there's something anyone can think of to try and establish dance floor etiquette a little better. I think that's the biggest issue, albeit a difficult one to address since a lot of guests are probably new to ballroom. But hey, let's shoot for an even better event next year. Ah, God...I said I didn't have that much to say and ended up writing an essay, lol...
Also, as far as the music went, I guess I don't have much to say about the selection. To be honest I'm happy dancing to anything, and I was really there for the dance event more than anything, hehe. The volume was all over the place sometimes though. Maybe if you guys have time for next year's event, you could even out the volumes of each song file with a program so it'll be less problematic once it plays? I do it sometimes for my iPod ;]
Oh, and although it wasn't really a big deal or anything, I did notice that some of the songs were labeled incorrectly on the playlist on the projector. I heard so many cha cha tracks passed as rumba or swing (I'm aware some songs can be interpreted as different dances, but I think sometimes the different tempo made it harder to adjust to, especially for beginners, I noticed). I also recall some foxtrot/rumba mixups too, even quickstep songs passed as swing...just to name a few. I don't suppose it's that much of an issue if people could still pick up the rhythm or if they knew they could dance something else to the song playing, but at times my partner and I would end up walking on and off the floor a bunch of times when we realized what type of song was really playing. Became a bit of a hassle, especially when trying to beat the crowds to get a good spot on the floor, lol.
And just one more thing...more of a question/suggestion, really. I'm just wondering if next year's selection might be able to include at least one song for some of the other common ballroom dances that weren't included in the lesson lineup, like Viennese waltz, quickstep, or samba. I know most of the attendees probably wouldn't know those dances, but some of my friends and I were a little bummed that some of those weren't included. I know they were in there last year (I did catch a few sambas and quicksteps in this year's selection too), probably more often than they should have been played, but I dunno... Would've been fun to be able to dance those at least once. If it's a possibility at all for next year, I think just a small mention somewhere that these dances would be included in the selection in advance wouldn't hurt, to ease on any possible confusion. Maybe people might even be encouraged over the year to take some lessons and learn new dances. Actually, I imagine something like quickstep might be fun for beginners to learn next year. The basic steps shouldn't be any harder than a waltz, maybe it can get thrown in the mix if there's an instructor willing to teach? :] Sorry for being a little long-winded on this note...it's just something I talked to my friend a lot on our way home. A bunch of dance nerds...heehee.
Oh, and I almost forgot one thing I noticed. I saw some people having costume trouble, mostly those with longer trailing garments like coats or gowns. I'm not sure if there were any warnings concerning that, but if there weren't I think it might be very helpful. I did see one unfortunate guy get his long coat get torn when the tail was stepped on by accident.
I think that's the bulk of my thoughts... I did absolutely love our room this year though. Spacious and the floor was excellent. I hated the issues we had with last year's flooring...and the hazards...dear God, but it was great to have like a dancesport-quality floor to dance on this time around. I do wish there was an easy solution to address the crowd size though, but I can't imagine any realistic fixes to that... If anything, I just hope there's something anyone can think of to try and establish dance floor etiquette a little better. I think that's the biggest issue, albeit a difficult one to address since a lot of guests are probably new to ballroom. But hey, let's shoot for an even better event next year. Ah, God...I said I didn't have that much to say and ended up writing an essay, lol...