Berkeley: Center brings slice of world through dance

Harriet Chiang, Chronicle Staff Writer

Friday, December 2, 2005

On a stroll down Berkeley's busy Solano Avenue, past the array of shops and restaurants, one is likely to catch the faint sounds of pounding drums and throbbing music coming from a small set-back store.

Inside the World Dance Center, behind the jewelry and colorful skirts for sale, is a large studio where the atmosphere sizzles with music, movement and energy.

Some two dozen dancers are swaying to the music, many dressed in long skirts as they move to the steady beat of conga drums being played by musicians singing a traditional rumba song in Spanish. The dancers' eyes are fixed on a mirrored wall as well as the fluid movements of the instructor.