For Steppin’ Out, Swing’s the Thing : Hy’s in Culver City draws crowds with evenings devoted to the swirling, sensuous dance

At 9:30 p.m. on a recent Wednesday evening in the two-tiered lounge of Hy’s Restaurant in Century City, Arthur Black and Riquette Hofstein had the dance floor--beneath a crescent-shaped bar area--all to themselves.

The couple executed steps from such popular dances as the New York hustle and the East Coast swing (a contemporary version of the jitterbug). They danced to “Call the Plumber,” a raunchy blues number by the late singer Big Joe Turner, programmed by Diane De Marco, a former singer who has been a club DJ since 1972.

But it wasn’t long before the floor was filled with dancers and the air crackled with excitement. Couples such as Romeo Mendoza and Valerie Nash and Donna Hyatt and

Eric Hernandez whirled and twirled across the floor to disco-based tunes such as Gregory Abbott’s “This Girl Really Wants to Dance With Me.”

Dancer Leba Shana, wearing a red flowing dress with matching red shoes and stockings, drew a spontaneous ovation from the crowd of about 150 when she climaxed a New York hustle routine with an eye-boggling, full-circle spin, led by one of her partners, Byron Ziman. Ziman, and Mendoza a few moments before, danced with Shana to the thumping beat of Donna Summer’s “This Time I Know It’s for Real.”

It was just a typical Wednesday at Hy’s, just another Swing Night party thrown by Sandra Giles, who has been bringing her show to Hy’s for about two years. The former actress and part-time real estate agent has coordinated dance events at various Westside nightclubs for about a decade.

Giles got started as a hostess of dance evenings while she was a member of private club in Beverly Hills that was experiencing a decline in night-time business. “I offered to bring in some of my friends who were good dancers to put on a show and spruce up things, and people loved it so they asked me to organize it on a regular basis,” Giles said.

For the last five years, Giles--who was in constant motion during the evening, buzzing from table to table, making sure her guests were enjoying themselves--has been assisted by Shana, a professional dancer who produces the showcase portion of the Swing Nights, which is mainly for swing, hustle and salsa dancers.

“I call the dancers and invite them. I have a huge list to draw from, but I never know who will be there, so it’s never preplanned,” Shana said. “I do tell people if they want to dance, I like them there by 10:30 p.m.”

If Shana does coordinate the order of appearances, she keeps her hands off the choreography. “The dancers take responsibility for their own routines,” she said.

Though many of the participants in the showcase on this Wednesday were professionals, Shana stressed that these evenings, including the showcase, are not for pros only. “I always welcome new dancers,” she said. “If I go somewhere and see good dancers, I invite them to dance in the showcase. But I’d say most of the dancers are there just for the love of dancing, not to be in the showcase. Dancing keeps you young.”

Black, who has been dancing since he was a preteen, agreed. “It’s a great workout for the cardiovascular system,” he said. “You don’t have to go for a walk, you don’t have to run, and dancing is a lot of fun.”

It’s also a relatively risk-free way to meet people, said Nancy Hope, an actress and model from Beverly Hills who, with her partner, Pat Kinney, opened the evening’s showcase with a snazzy swing routine. “There are not that many places where you can feel great being a woman by yourself. Here, you can, because it’s not a pickup joint.”

On the next night, a Thursday, a much smaller crowd was in the lounge, listening to pianist Larry Nash’s trio--with bassist Stan Gilbert and drummer Donald Dean--work its way through a couple of blues-tinged numbers.

Even with only a smattering of listeners, when singer Dee Dee McNeil, a 20-year veteran who has worked most of Los Angeles’ top jazz rooms, got up to sing, she did it with gusto.

After inviting audience members up to the dance floor, McNeil kicked off the seasonal standard, “Winter Wonderland.” As she sang, she danced in place and snapped her fingers in time to Dean’s popping backbeat. Her other tunes, from the ballad “Old Folks” to Charles Brown’s classic, “Merry Christmas, Baby,” were rendered with the same spirit and enthusiasm.

During a break, McNeil, who has written tunes for Nancy Wilson, Diana Ross and the Supremes and the Four Tops, said that as far as positive responses go, she gets as good as she gives.

“To bring people a good feeling, whether it’s a slow night or a packed house, is wonderful,” she said.

McNeil, who works Hy’s Thursday through Saturday from 9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. until the end of this month (including New Year’s Eve), said that while she offers danceable pop tunes, she also sings blues and jazz numbers. The latter are her favorites.

In addition to McNeil, live music is provided by pianist David Swanson, who works in the lounge Monday through Saturday from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., and David White, who works Tuesdays from 9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. through December. There is no cover charge for entertainment.

Hy’s--which was formerly the Princess Restaurant until purchased by current owner Rod Gardiner in 1985--sports two large dining rooms, where customers can choose from a variety of steaks--all cut from prime, Midwestern, dry-aged beef--fresh fish, veal, seafood and pasta. Dinner for two, without wine, is $40 to $60.

Hy’s, 10131 Constellation Blvd., Century City. Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; dinner, Monday through Saturday, 6 to 11 p.m. The lounge is open until 1:30 a.m. Closed Sundays. (213) 553-6000.