  We combine VLT/ISAAC NIR spectroscopy with archival HST/WFPC2 and HST/NICMOS
imaging to study the central 20"x20" of M83. Our NIR indices for clusters in
the circumnuclear star-burst region are inconsistent with simple instantaneous
burst models. However, models of a single burst dispersed over a duration of 6
Myrs fit the data well and provide the clearest evidence yet of an age gradient
along the star forming arc, with the youngest clusters nearest the north-east
dust lane. The long slit kinematics show no evidence to support previous claims
of a second hidden mass concentration, although we do observe changes in
molecular gas velocity consistent with the presence of a shock at the edge of
the dust lane.
