So....The dead dog this year didn't really happen.

i think you're missing a fundemental point though. I'm not saying duplicate it all, nor am i saying use the double set up JUST for the dances.

i've never run a con so pardon me if my asumptions are completly off bass here but this is what i suspect.

1) the dances are virtually a free asset (in terms of raw cost) because:
- you need to rent the room it's held in for the duration of the con anyway for houseign equipment, to minimuse set up tiem etc
- the equpiment you rent (projector speakers, computers) are multi event and is the same stuff you need to run a masqurade, 2 and kage etc
-the only equipment specific to teh dances are soem fancy lights (the cost to rent these is the same regardless of where they get set up) and while nice are not a requirment
- granted you need staff and security to cover the time again required regardless of location

2) you can (and i have) run dances with just that, an amp a small mixer and some speakers, just because somthing always has been doen a certain way does not mean it has to continue that way forever.

3) At times you need more then one event to have full audio support
- charity auction was not 9to my surprize) held in the main ballroom, it needed audio
- You could run masquarde rehersal and NOT tie up your main ball room
- you could run masgot games in the room (again much better with full audio, talk to megaplex staff about that)
- bigger pannals coudl use full audio
- it gives you a smaller fuction ballroom enviornment for other possible events

Now reasons to not hold the dance in the DLCC
- far from hotel for a majority of suiters making suit changes or outfit changes take much longer
- uncomfortably large for the size of the dances due to attendence
- uncomfortbaly dark, you can't (afford to) properly light that room cus the house lights make it too bright for the non suiters to enjoy and the effects lights just get lsot in the space..you mentioend fog machine, i never aaw it used
- a nightmare for audio, it sounded like crap in there, the frotn speakers were beign over driven and i told the staff several tiems they were poping the front right sub cabbinat, the reverb was rediculas, parts of the room were too loud others too quiet, again you dotn have the equipment or budget to pproperly sound that room for music

So in summerry dancing there was very unplesent, i think a majority fo peopel woudl perfer a less techy smalelr room, dance then a high tech high budget not fun experience in the main ball room.

It may cost more, but then again it may not, and if it's affordabel in the budget and makes the experience MORE enjoyable, I would think you'd want to research that. You dont have unlimited money no, but hwo you spend that mopney is very important and a few dollers spent in some area's means more then others

Back to equipment, the dances dont need a projector screen, it's cool but we can live without it, it's needed much more in the main ballroom

the effects lights aren't needed in the main ballroom, they are nice for the dance so youc an still rent one set and just set them up elsewhere or scrap them all together. So so far we're talkign doubel speakers and an amp. you need probably a system half the size of what you have for the room i'm thinking of. You'll probably need to rent a light truss so far only new dance only expense associated per my calculation. again the audio setup would have countless uses over the course of the con.

Have the dj's (msot do anyway) bring their own turntables, con shouldn't have to supply that (possibly problem here with the one night they quickly swap out liability if one dj uses anothers tables, so you might not be able to do that)

Lets put it thsi way if you hodl the dance in the DLCC again you'll see fewer and fewer turn out i think. Ac used to be one of the best dances, last year it was the worst. ANd i dont think you cna improve it enough in that room to go back to where you were in the standings.

I may be the only once saying anything right now, everyone i talked to agree's

Again you might be stuck with this but So far I dont see anyone actually researching the posability seriously. Sometiems i wonder if Anthrocon has grown so large that the organizers loose soght fop the simple cheap and dirty solutions the smaller cons have to rely on to survive. Soem things are major productions, by nessicity. Not everything has to be. look for the simpler solutions.

Maybe the dances should be scraped all together (or reduced in number) but as i said near as i can tell it's virtually a free event (exception of turn tables, extra lights, and possibly extra dorsia money i dunno how that works) so even if only 100 take advanage of it it's good to have.

I'm about doen on thsi topic i said what I can it's up to the staff and board to either take the tiem to research it (at the behest of the unhappy attendee's) or shrug it off as "we're doing everything we can" we knwos there are issues, this is the only solution we have" and proceed as last year

thsoe the white orb things? with the moving line of dots? eyah those are cool.

As to teh echno I''m nto a sound engineer and i dunno what your options are for fake walls and diffusers and such. But anything you can do would be welcomed. Those were the 2 biggest issues, the sound quality and the lighting leval. If tyouc an address them in the room you got you're a hero but i fear it'll cost more then a relocation and provide less overal benefit but good luck