Town Rocks ‘Til Dawn With Nonstop Parties : Celebration: At 11 official balls, plus numerous other revels, 65,000 people dance the inaugural night away.

With one wild, nonstop party evening, the lid came off the nation’s capital Wednesday.

“There’s just a different spirit at work here,” said Los Angeles businessman Eli Broad. “There’s a sense of inclusion--a feeling that everyone wants to be part of today, and part of the future.”

The desire to be part of the excitement prompted 65,000 people to celebrate at 11 official balls here on Wednesday night honoring the inauguration of President Clinton. A half-dozen “after balls”--one of them playfully dubbed the Stealth Ball, in recognition of its not-very-secret nature--were destined to keep the city dancing until dawn.

After 12 years of sometimes starchy Republican social events, Washington was like a party animal let out of its cage.

“Republicans had all those big cars and fancy dresses, and they walked around looking hoity-toity,” Rep. Patricia Schroeder (D-Colo.) said at the Western States Ball at the Kennedy Center. “They never got the music.”

No such problem existed for Wednesday’s revelers. At the Kennedy Center, guests began rocking when they walked through the door. When “Don’t Stop Thinkin’ About Tomorrow”--the Clinton campaign’s unofficial anthem--blasted from one end of the Opera House, hundreds and hundreds of people sang along.

In another marked contrast from the bejeweled celebrants of the Ronald Reagan and George Bush eras, the attire of Clinton Administration party-goers ranged from prom chic to Early American Thrift Store. The occasional genuine designer ensemble seemed ostentatious. Fur coats were scarce, and fake gemstones were plentiful. One young party-goer wore a boa of obviously artificial ostrich feathers.

“I fed it right before I left home,” she deadpanned.

With their long beards and turbans, Sikhs jived to the music. A pair of 7-year-olds whirled and twirled alongside their grandparents. Gay couples danced in honor of the first President to mention AIDS in an inaugural speech.

“I’m 40 years old and this is the first time I’ve ever voted for a winning candidate,” said Richmond Young, dancing with his friend and fellow San Franciscan Bob Kane. “We’ve waited a long time for this party, and we’re going to enjoy it.”

Julie Bettencourt, an interior designer from Santa Cruz, said the mood Wednesday night was changing her whole view of Washington.

“I always thought this was such a stodgy place,” she said. “But the energy tonight is really amazing. You can just feel the change in the air.”

At his pre-ball reception and dinner party, Broad--the chairman of Kaufman & Broad land developers--echoed the notion that Democrats were determined to reclaim a city where “fun” has been something of a foreign phrase. “It’s been a long time coming,” Broad said.

His guest list included the new U.S. trade representative, Mickey Kantor, and his wife, Heidi, as well as incoming Secretary of State Warren Christopher and his wife, Marie. California Treasurer Kathleen Brown stopped by for cocktails, as did Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and his wife, Vicki. In his gray business suit, former Sen. Alan Cranston was conspicuous among the sea of tuxedos. But his lapel pin--featuring a young, bearded, dark-haired Bill Clinton with the headline “My President”--brought better fashion reviews than many of the black ties around him.

Los Angeles mayoral candidate Richard Katz, on the other hand, was wearing a star-spangled bow tie with his tuxedo. Katz, who has engaged the help of Clinton campaign strategist James Carville, said his enthusiasm for the new Administration had made him travel 3,000 miles to his first inaugural.

“Most people thought I was nuts when I endorsed Bill Clinton in January of 1992,” Katz said.

Across town at the Convention Center, meanwhile, the 42nd President of the United States was greeting guests at the Arkansas Ball.

“First let me be real serious,” Clinton said. “Does Hillary look great, or what?”

The Clintons’ first spin on the wooden floor saw them slow-dancing to “You’re the Biggest Part of Me.”

In what would become a pattern for the evening, the new President grabbed a saxophone at the Arkansas Ball and belted out a few bars of “Your Mamma Don’t Dance.”

Clinton also couldn’t stop himself from picking up a sax later in the evening, at the New York/District of Columbia Ball.

“I think I’d better keep my day job,” he quipped. “But I had a good time.”

Also at the Convention Center, celebrities packed the MTV Ball, widely considered the hottest ticket in town. The Hollywood parade was exemplified by the trio of Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty and Annette Benning, who hurried in to the MTV bash, where Clinton stopped by to praise the rock ‘n’ roll generation for helping him to get elected.