Gotta Dance By M. Franco Salvoza Washingtonpost.com Staff Wednesday, December 24, 1997

Style, swing and twirl on sweaty, confetti-laced dance floors in the early hours of '98 until your legs wobble at clubs like Tracks, Zei, and The Ballroom. For a higher-than-normal cover charge, they'll all hire top DJs, toss in the customary champagne, hors d'oeuvres, and party favors, too. Be sure to purchase tickets ahead of time or check for private parties - there's only so much space to groove on those lighted floors, you know. The Bank has a Swingers New Year's Eve Gala for $25 a person; retro Polly Esther's will hold a special Disco Ball Bash for $60 a ticket. The New Year's Eve party at Decades divvies up the fun, including a separate floor for '70s, '80s, and '90s music, a caricature artist, appearances by Father Time and Baby New Year, and a salsa and jazz band.

In D.C.'s neighborhoods like U St., dance into and out of Republic Gardens or the State of the Union's all night New Year's party. Adams Morgan also has its share: Chief Ike's Mambo Room has dancing until 3 a.m.; Latin Jazz Alley, Heaven and Hell, if not completely devoted to dancing, will have special sections for grinding and getting down.

If salsa, merengue, and mambo are more your dancing speed, check out Coco Loco, Cuzco's, Habana Village, or Bravo Bravo for New Year's Eve Latin dancing. After a performance by The Capitol Steps at Chelsea's, the 12-piece band Peligro will hit the stage as part of the New Year's Eve package at $35 a person. Some of these places offer lessons beforehand for a few extra dollars, or if you're really self-conscious, take a lesson or two at a local dancing school. Clubgoers here traditionally dress to impress, so wear something with a little more shimmy along with your dancing shoes.

At Paper Moon in Georgetown, waiters will serve a three-course meal, then toss aside the tables for dancing to "international music" (read a mix of salsa and techno) for $85 a couple. If you're looking for something with more of a down-home feel to it, strap on your shiniest leather boots for dinner and country-western dancing at the Radisson Plaza Hotel (703/ 845-1010) to roadhouse tunes by West of Sunset and Heavy Country for $159-179 per person.

You can also find an elegant, affordable evening at Maryland's historic, 64-year-old Glen Echo Spanish Ballroom, where the Washington Swing Dance Society sponsors their annual non-alcoholic New Year's Eve Dance. Take in a beginners' swing dance class around 8, test your new steps on the floor with more experienced dancers until 12:30 a.m., and cool off with a glass of cider. Tickets to this event are a measly $15.