There’s Nothing Formal About Red Velvet After Dark

If you ruled the world and defined fun as cranked up hip-hop, pretty young things to spark both sexes, cheap drinks and minimal ‘tude, you’d keep the Red Velvet Lounge running on Saturdays for eternity.

“If I Ruled the World,” by rapper Nas, set the tone a few Saturdays ago when, by 10:30 p.m., the pretties had begun to invigorate the dance floor with lusty moves and a liberating sense of abandon. Who cared if the lyrically light hip-hop song had long passed its prime? It copped a danceable groove, which is what the crowd came for.

Slinky skirts slit thigh-high or street-wise baggies and tees, fashion sense mattered less than rapping with friends or scoring a squeeze. (Flirty signals charged the fake-fog-filled air.) And multiculturalism ruled.

“It’s like a fun club,” says Sujit Kundu, who has run the promotion for the past six months. “It’s not real dressy, just a lot of drinking, a lot of dancing. Also, a lot of clubs nowadays [are geared for a] Latin, black, Asian or white crowd. You don’t see lots of different ethnicities hanging out. We try to keep it real balanced.”

Kundu previously promoted Club Diva at the Quiet Cannon nightclub in Montebello, where he co-owns the record store Exodus with Marco Rueda, Red Velvet Lounge’s house DJ. Rueda spins house, disco, KROQ-style tunes, even reggae, as well as hip-hop.

Kundu also has brought major celeb radio DJs to the club at the Red Velvet Chinese restaurant, where couples like to neck in shadowy velvet booths. The celebs include Big Boy and Richard Humpty Vission, both from hip-hop station KPWR-FM (105.9). Kundu met the latter while partying in Mexico, and the pair recently returned from a 35-city tour promoting Vission’s dance-mix CDs.

Having friends and associates like that, one hopes, will help Kundu keep the club alive for a while, if not for eternity. Drink specials might help: Well drinks are $1 until 10 p.m., $2 thereafter. About 11 p.m. on crowded nights, a taco bar opens; $1.50 buys one big beef taco.

Country Is Not Dead: While it’s not what it was in the early ‘90s, cowboy-hatted dancing lives on, especially this weekend in Orange. That’s when versatile social-dance promoter Tom Mattox will host the 13th annual Sundance Country Boogie Dance Festival. The weekend will include nearly nonstop classes in country two-step, West Coast swing, waltz, cha-cha and hustle from a variety of top local teachers. Recorded music for all such forms will be played for dance parties on Fridays and Saturdays until 3 a.m. Hours for the fest are 3 p.m. Friday through 8 p.m. Sunday. Registration for all three days, available at the door, is $95. Daily passes available. Doubletree Hotel, 100 The City Drive, Orange. (562) 92-DANCE.

BE THERE

Red Velvet Lounge, 904 W. Orangethorpe Ave., Fullerton. Saturday, 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Cover: $10. (714) 526-1124.