SAN MARCOS - On Thursday afternoons, rush-hour traffic on West San Marcos Boulevard at Rancho Santa Fe Road could become a little less leaden.

Throughout the summer, hip-hop dancers plan to amuse drivers as they perform their moves from the street sidelines. The entertainment, planned for 4 to 6 p.m. every other Thursday, is a marketing tool for nearby juice shop Planet Smoothie, owner Ken Hayashi said.

The summer event follows a successful debut in June when about six dancers headed out to the intersection to perform their routine accompanied by music from a parked car.

"People were waving, honking and pulling into the parking lot," said Cynthia Corp, dancer and Planet Smoothie employee. "We attracted a lot more business than usual."

In fluorescent-colored T-shirts, Corp and other dancers performed for passing traffic for about 45 minutes, repeating a 3-minute routine to mixed songs entitled "Gettin' Dirty."

After taking a quick breather in the smoothie shop, they headed out for a second 45-minute session to hit the 5 p.m. crowd, Hayashi said.

The moving promotion worked and business boomed. Hayashi said he served about 30 customers compared to the 20 he usually sees between 4 and 5 p.m. Thursday.

The dancers say they're doing the summer gig for free.

Hayashi recruited them after Corp, a part-time employee, mentioned her hip-hop competition class one day when she asked for time off from work. Hayashi visited the class at Georgia's School of Dance in Escondido, and asked the group to do the summer promotion. Six of the 12 students volunteered.

Hayashi said that although traditional marketing ideas have worked ---- twirling cardboard signs to catch the attention of passing cars ---- this idea is more along the lines of Planet Smoothie's philosophy.

"It's something funky and outrageous, like our drinks," Hayashi said, listing the shop's quirky smoothie titles including a fruit and yogurt concoction called Berry Bada-Bing.

The hip-hop competition class, instructed by KJ Gonzales, participates in several regional events, said dance school owner Sue Gilson. The group earned second place for the "Gettin' Dirty" routine at the 2004 San Diego County Fair's Hip Hop adult division.Twelve groups competed in the division.

"Hip hop is different from every other kind of dancing in that anyone can do it, and it's not for a certain gender," Corp said. "It's fast-paced and you can hear the music through our moves."

Drivers can catch the dance troupe at rush hour every other Thursday through the summer, at the corner of San Marcos Boulevard and Rancho Santa Fe Road, Hayashi said.

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