[SoCal Con Comm] Nocturnal Masquerade Ball

Shall we dance? 

Nocturnal Masquerade Ball was held on October 13, 2024 at the Atomic Ballroom in Irvine, CA. This event was a joint production between California Cosplay Gala by Craig and Company and AniMarketplace. I’ve been attended cosplay formal events since Anime Expo 2003 when their first ever ballroom dance was held. The Northern California based social dance organization typically holds a Southern California event once a year. This was their first time in the Irvine space.

It’s debated if having an event in Irvine would be accessible for anime fans who love the social dance scene. Atomic Ballroom had plenty of accessible parking. It’s right off the 405 freeway, and within walking distance from Anime Topia.

This year’s ballroom dance drew in about 20 or so cosplayers looking to dance the night away to anime tunes from Miyazaki classics, Jujutsu Kaisen, Card Captor Sakura, Princess Tutu, and others. Per California Cosplay Gala tradition, we also had a Latin Mixer and a medley of random anime, Internet culture, TikTok culture, etc songs to play. The final song of the night was, “Die with a Smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars with the Craig Yamaguchi crooning (“Versace on the Floor” was a close second).

Attendees dressed in cosplay or wore something simple and formal for the Nocturnal Masquerade.

I was invited the day before ti Emcee the event as Beidou from Genshin Impact (Cadillac collaboration verison) and work with Anjel and Sharko on selecting on whom shall be our royal court and best dressed of the evening.

The event was simple. Water and snacks were available for free to all attendees. Everyone understood the basics of dance floor etiquette and consent. I couldn’t quite dance because I was busy covering the event and making sure everyone was having a good time.

Overall, while I felt the event could have been marketed better – we did have a huge dance floor and I would have loved to have seen more of SoCal’s cosplay and anime dress up scene present. The staff at Atomic Ballroom were very friendly and have expressed they would love to have us back again and also invited us to their social dance events. Thank you, California Cosplay Gala for asking me at the last minute to judge the contest and be the masters of ceremonies of the evening!

California Cosplay Gala will be hosting two ballroom dances at AX Chibi 2024 and Anime Los Angeles 2024. As your event Emcee, I hope to see you all there!