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NEWS: Anime Boston to Host Formal Ball


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Deltakiral



Joined: 07 Oct 2004
Posts: 3338
Location: Glendora, CA (Avatar Hei from Darker than BLACK)
PostPosted: Sun Dec 24, 2006 11:47 am Reply with quote
Quote:
Anime Boston has announced that it will hold a black-tie, invitational ball, the "Cherry Blossom Ball" at the April Convention.


I am glad that more conventions are starting to do this, I hope that AX 2007 has something like this. It would be nice to have a little change and a dance is a nice way to do that if you ask me.
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aluria



Joined: 11 Nov 2005
Posts: 367
Location: New Westminster, B.C., Canada
PostPosted: Sun Dec 24, 2006 1:36 pm Reply with quote
Well that is cool! I would love to go to something like that, I mean how often do people get to dress up that fancy nowadays? There's grad of course(or prom for the states) but other than that? I wish I could go to a ball......
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ANN_Bamboo
ANN Contributor


Joined: 05 Jan 2002
Posts: 3904
Location: CO
PostPosted: Sun Dec 24, 2006 4:00 pm Reply with quote
aluria wrote:
Well that is cool! I would love to go to something like that, I mean how often do people get to dress up that fancy nowadays? There's grad of course(or prom for the states) but other than that? I wish I could go to a ball......


^^;; Yeah... but look at the dress code. The site they linked for examples of "formal cosplay" includes everything from "performing arts" to "mind, body, and spirit," which means plenty of random pseudo-JRock outfits and FFX garb. It's hardly a ball if half the people there are going to be dressed as barely-clothed Yunas and chain-wearing-leash-and-collar folk.

Still, it looks like it'd be pretty fun. I'd love to go just to take pictures.
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Furudanuki



Joined: 29 Jul 2006
Posts: 1874
PostPosted: Sun Dec 24, 2006 5:22 pm Reply with quote
It's nice that they are going to hold a ball at the convention, but I couldn't help but laugh when I read the description of the event. I'm probably too particular about this sort of thing, but here's a free safety tip: people should know what a term actually means before they use it in a press release. Saying an event is "black tie" and then posting a dress code that allows cosplay is like announcing a Napoleonic War battle re-enactment and allowing some participants to wear WW2 uniforms if they wish. The term "black tie" states what should be worn - it IS the dress code: tuxedo/dinner jacket ensembles for the men, cocktail dresses or gowns for the ladies, dress uniform for serving military personnel, etc.. There is some leeway in what can be worn as opposed to the far stricter code for "white tie", but the requirements are quite specific. And referring to an event as "formal" and "black tie" is redundant. A formal event may or may not be "black tie", but a "black tie" event by definition will always be formal and will be held in the evening (after 6:00 pm).
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MorwenLaicoriel



Joined: 26 Feb 2006
Posts: 1617
Location: Colorado
PostPosted: Sun Dec 24, 2006 6:02 pm Reply with quote
SakechanBD wrote:


^^;; Yeah... but look at the dress code. The site they linked for examples of "formal cosplay" includes everything from "performing arts" to "mind, body, and spirit," which means plenty of random pseudo-JRock outfits and FFX garb. It's hardly a ball if half the people there are going to be dressed as barely-clothed Yunas and chain-wearing-leash-and-collar folk.

Still, it looks like it'd be pretty fun. I'd love to go just to take pictures.


I don't think Yuna would count, at least not her songtress outfit--one of the guides says "above the waist - bare midriffs are unlikely to be considered appropriate. Bare shoulders, however, should be fine." It also request somewhere that skirts be at least knee-length...

This actually sounds really nice. Too bad I can't go!
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TranceLimit174



Joined: 21 Jul 2004
Posts: 958
PostPosted: Sun Dec 24, 2006 7:38 pm Reply with quote
I guess they're trying to cement this sort of thing as a staple now. For the past couple of years cons (at least those here in Texas), have attempted to host either a "masquerade" or a "ball" however it's usually no different from the standard dance. Speaking of which I'm gonna go on a small little rant here. I would suggest that cons get the dance right before they try to start trying to have these balls and masquerades. Now maybe I'm too much of a dork even by the anime fan's standards, but when I go to these dances I go for the sake of hearing anime themes in a party setting. I enjoy cutting loose and it's very rare that I get to do that to my favorite themes. Most of the time when I go to these things, they wind up just playing standard techno, Evanesence has been thrown in there, the Kingdom Hearts theme is always done, and basically whatever music the stereotype would listen to. Personally, I'm under the impression that at anime convention a dance would contain anime music. I guess I'm wrong. Is it wrong for me to be a little irritated when I ask if "Thank You!!" by HOME MADE KAZOKU (the second ending in Bleach) could be played only to be met with a confusing gaze followed by a flyer advertising their internet radio station? It's kind of apparent that I'm not digging what's being played so why would I want to go to the site? Like I said, maybe I'm too much of a fan. There have been a couple of times when the tracks have been predominatley anime themed and I had a great time (this year's Oni-Con was exceptional on Sat. night, especially since I got the DJ to play Bomb A Head! V!). Am I in the minority on this one?
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darcerin



Joined: 22 Apr 2005
Posts: 330
PostPosted: Mon Dec 25, 2006 12:38 am Reply with quote
I completely agree with the above. I went to AnimeNext this past summer and was SORELY disappointed by the dance. They played techno for the first hour, played the drawn out speed racer song (give it a rest, that song is SO overdone!), and that was it for anime music, until my friends and I got sick of people jumping around with glow sticks and left. It's anime con, people!! Play the music we'd like to hear! I'm always looking for a new artist to start stalk...I mean, uh, adoring. Smile I can only listen to Every Little Thing so many times a year. Razz

And yes, "black-tie" is tuxedo and ball gowns. That is not optional! Go look it up in the book of etiquette if you think I'm lying. Laughing
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OneHotAlchemist



Joined: 12 Nov 2005
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 25, 2006 2:21 pm Reply with quote
darcerin wrote:
I completely agree with the above. I went to AnimeNext this past summer and was SORELY disappointed by the dance. They played techno for the first hour, played the drawn out speed racer song (give it a rest, that song is SO overdone!), and that was it for anime music, until my friends and I got sick of people jumping around with glow sticks and left. It's anime con, people!! Play the music we'd like to hear! I'm always looking for a new artist to start stalk...I mean, uh, adoring. Smile I can only listen to Every Little Thing so many times a year. Razz

And yes, "black-tie" is tuxedo and ball gowns. That is not optional! Go look it up in the book of etiquette if you think I'm lying. Laughing


Case in-point, the point of cosplaying to such a ball is to wear what your character would wear to such an occasion. Example being, Ed Elric would wear a red tux with a flammel, etc. Military officers would wear mess dress or formal dress, (FMA funeral dress uniform is a good example) etc. And what might be considered "formal" from other cultures is also accepted (a FORMAL komono for instance).
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Randall Miyashiro



Joined: 12 Jun 2003
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Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park
PostPosted: Mon Dec 25, 2006 10:18 pm Reply with quote
When Square hosted the Final Fantasy concert in San Francisco I wore a shirt and tie. My roommates who went with me dressed in even more formal suits. There were a few fans who came as their favorite FF character, but the majority of the attendees were formally dressed. I believe that the average age was older than a typical anime convention as well, especially considering that the cheap tickets went for $60. It was nice to have a formal otaku event. The only other event that comes to mind is the Hugo Award ceremony which I attended several years ago. 2007's Hugo/Worldcon is in Tokyo, and I hope to go.
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Avacado Burger



Joined: 25 Apr 2006
Posts: 85
PostPosted: Mon Dec 25, 2006 11:27 pm Reply with quote
TranceLimit174 wrote:
Most of the time when I go to these things, they wind up just playing standard techno, Evanesence has been thrown in there, the Kingdom Hearts theme is always done, and basically whatever music the stereotype would listen to. Personally, I'm under the impression that at anime convention a dance would contain anime music. I guess I'm wrong.


I completely agree here. It's an ANIME con; why the lack of Japanese culture? It's not like no DJ's exist in Japan, would it kill anyone to run some stuff like Sharpnel (especially since every track has some sort of anime sampling in it). Hell, if they did a whole dance off of the Ayutrance CDs, it's better than the 'club scene' they're going for now.

The whole ballroom dance idea sounds interesting though. It's definitely something for the otaku who's growing older (ie myself) as the con attendees grow younger Crying or Very sad
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Kryse



Joined: 28 Jul 2003
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Location: Minnesota eh
PostPosted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 4:10 am Reply with quote
If I could go, I would totally go as Queen Serenity...that sounds like so much fun...
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DriftRoot



Joined: 20 Jun 2003
Posts: 222
Location: NH
PostPosted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 9:20 am Reply with quote
Figures, I get myself in a financial sitation = unable to attend as planned (anyone want my badge reservation?) and they go forward with the ball.
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nailz



Joined: 07 Aug 2006
Posts: 30
Location: USA
PostPosted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 2:13 pm Reply with quote
TranceLimit174

No doubt. I think I had the same rant to my friend, word for word, just last week. Here in Minnesnowda the dance was more like a goth/darkwave rave. Now I'm hip to what the kids are listening to, but there's only so must angst a person can take. *snicker* Trance after trance was played while I waited for some j-pop at least! Don't get me started on my Anime-Cons are Not Goth Cons.

I went as Hanajima from Fruits Basket one day and there were so many spooky kids you couldn't tell without signage. *laugh*

I think a real ball would be awesome. There is tons of "formalware" in anime for the choosing. *flash back of bad Gundam Wing clothes* ack!
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Abarenbo Shogun



Joined: 19 Jul 2005
Posts: 1573
PostPosted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 3:28 pm Reply with quote
So would I fit in with Rose of Versalles cosplay, or do I risk a lawsuit and hissy fit with the creator?

And the hyperlink directs to http://www.animeconcs.com/ , not http://www.animecons.com/
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The Seventh Son



Joined: 27 Nov 2005
Posts: 380
Location: Where your missing socks end up.
PostPosted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 5:15 pm Reply with quote
im actually hoping to go to this con, and have been.. however, this will be interesting. ill dress up in a suit once in a while, but im more of a hard rock/metal person than anything else. oh, and my size 14 feet tend to come in contact with other shoes, so.... Mr. Green

but i do know that there will be two VERY big things there: kimonos and maid outfits.
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