By Kathleen Seiler Neary
Special to The Washington Post
Friday, March 14, 2008

"Brick House," "Y.M.C.A." and "Celebration" pump from the DJ booth at the Rock and Roll Hotel, the trendy nightclub on H Street NE.

But it's 2 in the afternoon, and there are hula hoops and balloons on the dance floor.

In other words, Baby Loves Disco -- a three-hour dance party for parents and their little ones -- is in town.

The dance parties, which are as much for adults as they are for children, have become popular among parents as a fun way to socialize, listen to music that isn't the Wiggles and laugh with kids bouncing to the beat of Abba.

"For weeks we were calling each other and singing '70s songs," says Robin Borum of Arlington, who came to a Baby Loves Disco event in February with friends and her 9-month-old daughter, Emily Elizabeth.

Rock-n-Tot ( http://www.rockntot.com), another group that holds similar events, will be at Ultrabar on F Street NW March 22 and April 26 , and the organizers of Rock-n-Romp!, which features live music, are expected to announce a spring event. Good thing, too. The Baby Loves Disco event, which crosses the nation like a rock concert tour, sells out like one, too: Tickets for six events in Washington and Baltimore were quickly snatched up. (The 300 tickets for each of the first three dates were gone before the inaugural event was held.) Demand is so high, "additional tour dates" in larger venues are being considered.

What's behind the popularity of Baby Loves Disco, Rock-n-Romp! and others like them?

"One thing I miss about being a mom is I don't get to go dancing," says Lynne Daley of Richmond, bouncing her 18-month-old daughter, Helen Catherine Wilck, around the dance floor at the recent Baby Loves Disco event. "This is the best of both worlds. It's good exercise, too!"

Other parents say the outings are a great escape from the usual kid-friendly events.

"Kids' music is obnoxious," says Pete Dyro of Alexandria, whose 1-year-old daughter, Moxie, is off with her mom at the moment. "These are classics that everyone knows. And they have simple beats that kids can feel."

The Baby Loves Disco family dance party was founded in 2004 by Heather Murphy Monteith, a Philadelphia mom and modern dancer. After attending, Andy Blackman Hurwitz, a New York dad and music producer, was hooked and helped her expand. "It was the first time my kids, my wife and I all walked out of an event and all had had a good time," says Hurwitz, who points to suffering through a Barney concert as a low point. Hurwitz and Monteith cloned the concept in other cities; there are Baby Loves Disco events in more than two dozen cities in the United States and the United Kingdom.

There's not a lot of structure to the event, save for some "freeze" dance call-outs and encouragement from an emcee. It's intended as a place to socialize, just as you would in a nightclub.

The crowd at the Baby Loves Disco event is mostly a fleece-and-jeans pack of parents sporting diaper bags and digital cameras, and, although alcohol is sold, this isn't a big drinking crowd. Free juice boxes and Goldfish crackers trump swank cocktails and bottles of beer.

Baby Loves Disco ( http://www.babylovesdisco.com) and the other events are recommended for babies through 7-year-olds, but the crowd typically skews young. Babies are packed in baby carriers or hoisted in the air to dance. Toddlers ride on shoulders and are chased in circles. Ella Koenig, 3, of Leesburg watches herself dance in a large mirror while Abba's "Dancing Queen" plays and her parents tend to the chocolate-smeared face of her sister, Keira, 2.

Taking a page from the handbook on how to keep kids happy, event organizers set aside the upstairs of the Rock and Roll Hotel as a low-key, snack-packed spot, complete with a diaper-changing area (there are no pull-down diaper tables in this nightclub) and couches.

Rock-n-Romp!, which began in 2002 in Silver Spring and features live local music, plans to have another event this spring in the D.C. area; visit http://www.myspace.com/rocknromp.

Given how fast the shows sell out, desperate parents who are sick of Barney songs should get tickets well in advance.

Rock-n-Tot March 22 and April 26 at UltraBar, 911 F St. NW Contact:202-638-4663 http://www.ultrabardc.com Tickets:$15 per person (non-walkers admitted free), with a $1.25 additional fee online; $18 at the door. Rock-n-Tot March 22 and April 26 at UltraBar, 911 F St. NW Contact:202-638-4663 http://www.ultrabardc.com Tickets:$15 per person (non-walkers admitted free), with a $1.25 additional fee online; $18 at the door.