DANCE CLUBS : It Takes a Lot of Footwork to Cover All the Possibilities

John Travolta may have abandoned his white suit long ago, but Saturday Night Fever still rages in the dance clubs of the San Fernando Valley. The fever, however, is no longer limited to weekends, thanks to a series of theme nights created to move customers onto the dance floor--and into the bar--almost every night of the week.

Consider this schedule: Tuesday in Universal City brings “Singing With the Hits” at Tony Roma’s, where anyone can grab a mike and make like a rock star. Then there’s Wednesday’s “Oldies” night at Tickets in the Woodland Hills Marriott; Thursday’s “Hot Legs” contest featured as part of “Ladies Night” at Fantasia in Northridge, and the Motown sound of Sunday’s “Big Chill Night” at Metro in Canoga Park.

But there is more to these clubs than theme nights. Each hangout has its own ambiance, age group and unwritten dress code.

If you tried to visit them all, your tolerance for the mixture of liqueurs that make up Long Island Ice Teas-- the drink of choice among the dance club crowd--might evaporate quickly. So before you don your acid-washed denim and dash out the door, save yourself some disappointment and choose your destination with the guide that follows.

“I love you. But don’t pass out before we get home.” Overheard outside Tony Roma’s ,

1 a.m., Saturday

Tony Roma’s sits atop the hill leading to Universal Studios. You may remember it as Wompompper’s, its name in a previous incarnation. Now the crowd is slightly younger (21-28) and attired primarily in acid-washed denim. And now customers can eat ribs between dances.

It draws a sizable crowd on the weekends as well as on Thursday nights, when Allen Fawcett holds open auditions for “Putting’ On the Hits.” (Contestants must register by 8 p.m. for the 9 p.m. festivities.)

According to Pam, 23, and Barbara, 21, two secretaries from Van Nuys and Burbank, respectively, Tony Roma’s is the “friendliest”--that is, least threatening--club around these days.

“People here talk to each other, ask each other to dance, aren’t caught up in what they do, who they are, how much money they make,” Pam shouted over a deafening dose of Devo. “You don’t have to worry about fighting guys off when you go to your car at night.”

Barbara agrees. “At Red Onion,” she said, “you walk in the door and you have men pinching your rear end.” Disc jockey Pat Millicano, a jovial ex-comic given to loud clothes, sets the tone of the club with his hijinks, such as a drag rendition of “Stop In The Name of Love.” Millicano also leads the waiters and waitresses in choreographed dance numbers every half-hour or so, just to keep things hopping.

“What I do is called ‘human dynamics,’ according to the people who say they know what they’re talking about these days,” Millicano said. “But it’s basically just a lot of energy, a lot of acting stupid, a lot of lip-sync.”

He: “You’re so Catholic.”

She: “You’re so Jewish.”

Overheard at Tickets , 10 p.m. Wednesday

Wednesday night is Oldies Night at Tickets--the music is from the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s and children under 40 must be accompanied by a divorcee. Or so it seems. Although the crowd is younger on the weekends, Tickets has a reputation for being an older (30 and up) and therefore “classier” club among regulars on the circuit.

It is not a place where women take fashion risks--at least not knowingly, and at least not on Wednesdays. Figures are not so svelte, heads are balder, and nobody seems to care. One John Saxon look-alike in a red knit shirt and red flare-legged pants still grinds his pelvis like John Travolta to the beat of “Play That Funky Music, White Boy.” But for the most part, everyone is dressed as if they stopped by for happy hour on their way home from the office and decided to stay.

The decor is standard hotel disco: shades of mauve and green, a separate room of conversation pits. The small dance floor featuring the requisite flashing lights is off to one side. The dress code (no jeans, old sneakers, shorts, sandals, T-shirts, or tank tops) is strictly enforced.

“Whaddya gonna do, Ladies?! Are you ready to see Hot Bods?! You wanna see HOT BODS?!! YOU WANNA SEE HOT BODS?!! SAY YEAH!!!”

Heard loud and clear at the Red Onion , 11:30 p.m . Wednesday

While the post-Big Chill generation is reliving disco at Tickets, the Red Onion, just a few blocks away, is in the full-fevered frenzy of Hot Bods Night. Muscular men in their early 20s take their shirts off and strut their stuff--tattoos and all--to a screaming crowd of Corona-swilling women dressed in tight clothes. But that’s just Wednesday. Thursday is Pajama Party Night and the “Naughty Nightie” contest. Every night includes some kind of contest or drink special.

The crowd is young, casually dressed and looking for action, although these days the euphemism is “fun.” Caroline, a 22-ish blonde escrow officer clad in a tank top and mini, explained just what’s so “fun” about the Red Onion: “Women can come here without any money and get in.” Like many of her friends, she comes to the Red Onion, “because of the . . . uh . . . men. You don’t even necessarily have to mingle with the men. You just dance with them and walk away. That’s the best way to do it.”

Unlike Pam and Barbara at Tony Roma’s, Caroline isn’t worried about being hit on by amorous men. “That’s the good news,” she said. “It’s bad news if you can’t get a drink bought for you.”

“You know, I never meet anyone in bars. I never do.”

Overheard at Sasch , 11:20 p.m. Saturday

Out front, near the orange neon “Sasch” sign, tuxedoed employees watch over two Alfa Romeos parked in the drive. But once you’re in the door you might well wonder if the management rented the cars for display purposes. The crowd seems to be the Red Onion kids grown up and calmed down.

One dance club maven characterized Sasch’s dance floor as “high pressure. It’s in the center of the club and well-lit. You’re very visible and everyone in the general bar area is watching you. Luckily, there aren’t many hot shots on the floor.”

Ecstacy, the house band, does a good job pumping out the hits that made Creedence Clearwater Revival famous and the waitresses wear intriguing spandex jump suits. But, for the most part, Sasch on a Saturday night is a return to the least exciting part of the ‘70s, from the leaf motif wallpaper in the back room and the backgammon tables, to the dying plants drooping listlessly from hanging baskets. If only Mary Tyler Moore were still on TV, to spare us evenings like this.

“I.D. required. Fashionable dress. No pass-outs.”

Posted outside Metro , midnight Thursday

Metro is a breath of fresh air--the least pretentious of any club mentioned so far. Decorated in minimalist black, white and gray, the club serves beer to customers 21 and older and non-alcoholic beverages to a crowd in the 18-through-20-year-old range.

Don’t go to Metro if you’re looking for free drinks or titillating contests. But if you’re ready to dance to everyone from Steppenwolf to Aretha Franklin with some kids who have been practicing and drink beer, Metro is the place to be.

The unwritten dress code is strictly black and white post-punk, but no one looks too closely. In fact, several regulars said that Metro is their hangout just because of that. “If people walk into Fantasia, they’re worried about the way they look, the way they dance, how much money they’ve got,” said Steve, 22. “Around here it’s pretty kick-back.”

You can count on seeing some dazzling dancing. If you want to learn new moves, you can do that, too. And you can feel free to dance alone, with a same-gender partner or in just about any combination you want with no hassles.

“When I’m not dancing, I’m pumping iron at Gold’s Gym.”

Heard at Escape , 11:30 p.m. Friday

One step up on the socioeconomic scale from Metro and only slightly more pretentious is Escape, a pleasant club with an understated black and white decor and a huge, dimly lighted dance floor separated from the club’s entrance by a solid white wall featuring geometric cut-outs.

On a Friday night, you can expect to see women in groups of two or three, like the “navel sisters,” two 22-year-olds in matching, midriff-bearing spandex outfits, one black, one white. But don’t get the wrong idea. Friday night is when Valley guys go out with their same-sex pals and Valley girls do the same.

You’ll find clumps of guys, sipping Long Island Ice Tea and munching complimentary pasta salad, looking for women to dance with, and clumps of women (also sipping Long Island Ice Tea) who’d rather dance with each other. If you’re shy, Escape is a great place to dance. With the dance floor dimly lighted and separated from the communal area, there is little danger of being watched too closely.

Some dancers, however, complain that the music isn’t up-to-date enough and relies too much on disco hits of yesteryear.

He: “People are very phony here.”

He: “Yeah, very plastic. We only come for the Hot Legs contest.”

Overheard at Fantasia West Nightclub , 11 p.m., Thursday (Ladies Night)

With its curving mirrored wall, flashing disco lights, blackjack table and pink and turquoise neon, Fantasia is reminiscent of the discos frequented by the Pine Valley set on the TV soap opera “All My Children.” It is a set designer’s vision of what a high-class, high-tech disco should be.

Or, as one woman quipped, “It’s like I’ve died and gone to Cleveland.”

According to general manager Rich Zellner, Fantasia is “the nightclub of tomorrow.” That’s why waiters and waitresses in this huge, 8,000-square-foot club wear “Jetson”-style black knit uniforms--the men with either a turquoise or pink lightning bolt across the chest, and the women with micro-mini flared skirts designed according to that old nightclub truism: more flesh equals better tips.

Theme nights are big at Fantasia, and several feature the disc jockeys from KISS-FM, who show videos and play the same music you’ll hear on the radio. And, Zellner said, Fantasia features “probably one of the most elaborate sound and video systems of any club in the city.”

On Friday and Saturday nights the dancing goes on until 4 a.m., and Fantasia’s sizable dance floor is packed with “successful young adults” who, Zellner said, are willing to adhere to the strictly enforced dress code (no jeans except designer jeans, no tennis shoes, nothing faded or ripped). But don’t expect to pick up the date of your dreams unless you’re clean shaven, drive an expensive car and have a lot of money, warn two 25-year-old strike-out kings.

Don’t want to wait in line? Buy a Fantasia Gold Card for a mere $1,000 annually, and you and a guest can avoid the line and skip the cover charge every night except Sunday and during special promotions.

DANCE CLUB GUIDE

TONY ROMA’S 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City

Dancing: 7 nights

Theme Nights: Tues., “Singing With The Hits”; Thurs., “Puttin’ On The Hits”

Drink Prices: $2.50-$7.00

Dress Code: Very casual

Cover: $2 Thurs.; $4 Fri, Sat

Avg Age: 21-28

Format: 50% oldies/50% top format

Misc: Valet parking. Watch out for meat between your teeth

SASCH 11345 Ventura Blvd., S.C.

Dancing: Closed Monday

Theme nights: No

Drink Prices: $3-$3.50 average

Dress Code: No tennis, jeans, T-shirts

Cover: $4, Tues, $5 Fri.-Sat

Avg Age: 25+

Format: Live rock and roll, Top 40, some oldies

Misc.: Valet parking

FANTASIA 19470 Nordoff, Northridge

Dancing: Closed Mon-Tues; After hours weekends till 4 a.m.

Theme Nights: Thurs., “Ladies Night”; Fri., “Happy Hour II” (8-10); Sun-Open Bar ($5 cover) with KISS-FM

Drink Prices: $2.25-$4.00

Dress Code: Strict, call for details

Cover Charge: $3, Thurs; $5, Fri & Sun; $6, Sat

Avg Age: 25+

Format: Top 40 dance

Misc: Blackjack; attitude

METRO 7230 Topanga Canyon Blvd., C.P.

Dancing: Wed-Sun; After hours till 4 on weekends

Theme Nights: “Big Chill” on Sunday

Drink Prices: Beer only-$2ish

Dress Code: Casual

Cover Charge: $5

Avg Age: 18-25

Format: Top 40 dance/eclectic

Misc: Coming Soon: Live music on Wed.

TICKETS Marriot Hotel, Woodland Hills

Dancing: 7 nights, 8-2

Theme Nights: Tues., Corona $1.25; Wed., Oldies; Thurs., All teas $2.25

Drink Prices: $2.75-$4.50

Dress Code: Strict, call for details

Cover: $3 Fri & Sat

Avg Age: 25+

Format: “Top Dance Tunes from NYC”

Misc: Located in Marriot Hotel

ESCAPE 19401 Parthenia, Northridge

Dancing: Fri & Sat

Theme Nights: Vary

Drink Prices: $2.50-$4.50

Dress Code: “Fashionable attire”

Cover: $5

Avg Age: 27ish

Format: Top 40 dance and alternative

Misc: Food available

RED ONION Woodland Hills

Dancing: 7 nights

Theme Nights: Mon, “Ski Dazzle”; Tues, $1 call drinks; Wed, Girl’s Nite Out, Men’s Hot Bod contest; Thurs PJ party, Naughty Nightie contest

Drink Prices: $3 and up

Dress Code: “Fashionable & Contemporary” (Nothing torn or tattered)

Cover: $2-$5

Avg Age: 21-30

Format: Top 40 dance, live rock and roll Tues-Sat

Misc: Well known for its theme nights