Dance Club

ONE OF the highlights of a trip to Washington State in January was a contra dance on a snowy evening at a rural Grange Hall.I did not know this was going to be a highlight. In fact, I approached my daughter's plans for the evening with a "What's one night out of my life" stoicism that I'd like to think was not completely transparent.And lo and behold, we had a ball. The gathering was smaller than usual normal because of the weather, but the people were open, cheerful and welcoming, and patient with us neophytes.

John Stratigakos, a Greek immigrant who parlayed a "gift for gab" and strong desire for people to simply have a good time into managing four nightclubs in the Baltimore area for nearly 20 years, died Saturday of cancer at Union Memorial Hospital.Mr. Stratigakos, 77, of Timonium operated clubs at separate times in Glen Burnie, Catonsville, Rosedale and Baltimore. All were dance clubs with dissimilar personalities but one thing in common: They were fun."People always came back because they could have fun there whenever they were there," said Clarence Lestrum, a friend and former patron at the old Hollywood Palace on Baltimore National Pike in Catonsville.

Illusions is a hotel lounge where most folks would rather lounge than dance. There is a smallish dance floor, to be sure, complete with a DJ booth to control the Top 40 and oldies action, a mirrored wall, a couple of large video screens and twinkling lights by way of a starry disco heaven.But dancers were in the minority the other night, with far more people settled into the admittedly comfy seating of this club located in the Inner Harbor Marriott. So it makes sense that the lounge furniture actually extends a bit onto the dance floor.

With its building on the auction block, Glen Burnie's hottest nightclub is in danger of having its plug pulled and its music stopped.L.A.'s Restaurant and Bar, which became an overnight success last winter, is still drawing scores of twentysomething couples to dance the night away. But the property now is up for sale to the highest bidder.The owner of the one-story building and surrounding grounds, GlenBurnie Realty Inc., defaulted on its loan on the property in May 1990 and filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11, which allows businesses to reorganize.

The Friendship Squares Square Dance Club will join 57 Baltimore-area square dance clubs for an evening of dancing from 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday at the Cow Palace in Timonium.The Friendship Squares meet regularly at Linthicum Elementary School, except during the summer. They also offer weekly classes for beginners.Friendship's first square dance class began in the fall of 1970. In May 1971, the club was formed with 24 members. It now has approximately 120 members. Steve Jacques calls out the square dance routines, while Mark Scott handles the cues for the round dance.

The owner of a North Laurel nude dancing club has agreed to require that his performers wear G-strings -- at least until he gets a legal opinion determining whether the establishment is a private club.But Benham Zangenah, the owner of Good Guys Bar & Grill, accepted the compromise after state and county officials said he was violating a state law prohibiting the consumption of alcoholic beverages in public establishments that offer nude dancing. He also agreed to keep patrons at least 6 feet away from performers.

At 2 a.m. last Saturday, small clusters of people - young, old, black, white, suburbanites and city dwellers - made their way to a cavernous warehouse underneath the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. It was the same excursion thousands of others have made over the past 21 years to the Paradox, the 13,000-square-foot renovated warehouse in the outskirts of Baltimore. The club, alongside Club Fantasy (since closed) and Club Choices, is where B-more Club music, the furiously aggressive strain of hip-hop and house, was cultivated and finessed - where DJs K-Swift and Ultra Nate got started.

Trapped between prepubescent mall cruising and adult-only bars and nightclubs, teen-agers in Columbia search, often in vain, for evening and weekend entertainment.River Hill village board teen representative Holly Maggio has proposed a possible remedy: a teen dance club in Columbia."Teen-agers want someplace to go and have fun, and a dance club would provide it," Maggio said.Though she does not have a detailed plan yet, the 16-year-old envisions a center in Columbia that would be a coffee house during the week and a dance club on the weekends.

A North Laurel bar known for its scantily clad dancers turned in its liquor license yesterday and changed its format to a bring-your-own-booze private club with nude dancers.Without a liquor license, Good Guys Bar & Grill is no longer subject to the regulations of the Howard County Liquor Board, which in April fined the bar over its dancers and suspended its liquor license.Thomas Meachum, the attorney representing the restaurant, said the move was prompted by financial problems.He said that Benham Zangenah, owner of the restaurant, told him it had been difficult to maintain financial viability under the liquor board regulations.

When he decided, finally, that it was time to end the life of a woman he loved, Tony Boston knew the perfect place was church, in front of God and the whole congregation. It would be a gesture as big and dramatic as the woman herself. After all, there was no hope of hiding his plan. Nearly everyone in Baltimore knew this woman, or at least had heard of her. She could walk into a room, all brassy, sassy 350-plus pounds of her, and bring you to your feet, singing, dancing, laughing.