I will begin my Congolese dance class this month at the Black Repertory Theater in Berkeley, located at 3201 Adeline St., 94703 (1 block South of the Ashby Bart) off of MLK Jr. Way. Come celebrate my birthday, October 14th, with the gift of a free class to kick off my fall session! The classes will take place on Saturdays, 11am-12:15pm, cost: $11, October 14 - December 23. There will not be a class on November 11, Veteran's Day weekend, as I have a prior engagement. The phone number to the BRG is 510-652-2120. I can reached by email or 510-368-2475. Though everyone is welcome to this class, my target audience is new dancers, those new to African dance, new to Congolese or wanting more help with Congolese technique. Again, those that are experienced, come on over! Also, for those that know what a wonderful musician Constant Massengo is, well, he'll be there, too! Nothing but the best. See ya soon!

For those that are new or not knowledgeable of Congolese, here's a little bit of information. Congolese dance is a type of African dance originating in the Congo, a country in Central Africa. There are two countries that are referred to by this name and region. They are the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in which Kinshasa is its capitol, and the Republic of the Congo (RC), in which Brazzaville is its capitol. The DRC is often still referred to as Zaire or just by Kinshasa and the RC is commonly referred to as Congo-Brazza. Both of these countries hold the same people whom are also called Congolese as is the culture, yet there are also differences. The two countries are separated by the Congo River. The contemporary music from the Congo, called Soukous comes from the DRC, but is currently played and danced throughout Africa, Europe, and the U.S. The official language of these countries is French, however, many Congolese combine their native languages with French or simply speak their native languages.