Richard David Tholoor, who has won several salsa championships, now conducts various Latin dance workshops across the world

Akshay J. Unecha knows all the moves. In the last year, the 21-year-old has twirled, dipped and spun around the dance floor, learning nine different styles of Latin dance. He can energetically whisk his partner around the floor doing the samba, the salsa or other dance forms like the tango and bachata. Soon the youngster — who’s studying in Pune — will be off to Sydney for six months to train under salsa king Oliver Pineda.

Unecha isn’t the only one bitten by the Latin dancing bug. Cut to the Sun City Resort in Baga, Goa. In the first week of November, it was abuzz with groovy Latino numbers and about 400 Latin dance enthusiasts from all over India. By the resort’s pool, groups of dancers moved in unison — or almost — as tango or rueda instructors barked commands at them.

The event was the three-day Goa International Latin Festival, organised by John Anthony of Bangalore-based Latino Rhythms Dance Academy and it was a testimony to India’s newest obsession — Latin dancing. It offered everything from open-air workshops for beginners to intermediate-level zouk classes. And the Latin parties went on till dawn.

The hotspot a few months earlier was Pune and the action was the Pune International Dance Congress. The stars of this show were Miriam Larici and Leonardo Barrionuevo, among the world’s most celebrated tangueros, who were making their first visit to India. The couple has displayed their talents on shows like Superstars of Dance and So You Think You Can Dance.

Aditya Upadhya (centre) with his students Priyanka Sen and Rahul Manyapu at the Goa International Latin Festival ; Pic by RAVI CHOUDHURY

“Our workshops were full, with more than 250 people in each batch and it was great to receive such an overwhelming response,” says an amazed Larici.

She shouldn’t have been so surprised. Latin fever has gripped India and the country is twirling its way to becoming one of the fastest growing Latin dancing nations in the world. In cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Pune and Bangalore, a mix of the young and not-so-young are putting on their dancing shoes. Says Puja Dutta, a Calcutta-based salsa student: “It was always my dream to salsa. I love the socials and the festivals since you get to be a part of a larger community and shake a leg with amazing dancers.”

Moreover, Latino dancing has attracted a group of entrepreneurs who are determined to take their students places and are heading off to dance festivals around the world. “Salsa is about where you come from, and we end up adding our own styles to the dance,” says Sameer Sachdeva, who runs Delhi Salsa Club with his wife and partner, Shenney Shandliya.

But it’s not just about the salsa or the tango. People are exploring everything from the samba, casino rueda and street cha-cha-cha. And if that’s not enough, they are also trying to move to the bachata, the merengue, the mambo, the pachanga and the rumba.

KayTee Namgyal has shifted to Rome from where he globe-trots all over the world, performing and conducting workshops at international dance festivals every month; Pic by VALENTIN BEHRINGER

A hop and a graceful skip takes us to Delhi, which has just hosted a three-day Argentine tango festival — including workshops, performances and milongas or tango socials. Organised by Rakesh Borar, an investment banker by day and a ballroom dancer by night (he runs the dance school 2 to Tango in the city), it was a huge hit. “There have been a lot of international instructors coming to India and the tango has appealed the most across diverse age groups. This triggered the Argentine tango festival and it has had a fabulous response,” says Borar.

As Latin dancing quicksteps into the big time, scores of schools are teaching students the right moves in all of India’s major cities. So, in Bangalore you have Lourd Vijay’s Dance Studio, Richard David Tholoor Dance Project and other schools like Latin Dance India and Latino Rhythms Dance Academy. There’s Rocky Poonawala’s in Pune, Delhi has outfits like the Delhi Salsa Club while Calcutta has Viva La Salsa, along with its newest school, Mambo City. Each one reports big numbers enrolling.

Inevitably, there’s heaps of socialising with the dancing. In most cities there are at least two ‘socials’ or Latin parties every fortnight. For some, the socialising is a key attraction. But there are also many who are keen students and are even entering international events.

One such advanced salsa student is Calcutta-based Mayur Jalan who is now choreographing a salsa routine for a junior group of dancers, due to take part in a Latino festival in India next year. Says Jalan: “These festivals pack in the world’s best dancers under one roof. Only when you’re dancing with them can you judge the level you’ve attained as a dancer.”

Sai Raja and Kirti Kishore are regulars on the international circuit and have been invited as judges at the China Salsa Congress

In fact, the action on the Latin dance scene is speeding up swiftly. Fast forward to April 2012 and Delhi will witness the India Fiesta Latina — a four-day-long Latin dance festival that’s expected to host participants from nearly 30 countries. It will take place at the new Jaypee Integrated Sports Complex in Noida. Dance enthusiasts willhave a chance to attend workshops conducted by some of the world’s best-known Latin dancers, and there are tons of socials lined up. At hand will be Latin dancing maestros like Adolfo Indacochea, Gupson Pierre, Super Mario and even Clau & Luke, who’ll be attending an Asian dance festival for the first time.

According to Neeraj Maskara, one of the most popular salsa instructors globally and director, India Fiesta Latina: “India has made tremendous progress in the Latin dances over the last few years. What it needs now is greater internatio-nal exposure.”

But Indians have already made their presence felt in the international dance scene. Topping the list is KayTee Namgyal, founder of Delhi- and Mumbai-based Salsa India, and the more recent K-School of Performing Arts, in Mumbai. Namgyal was an early Latin dance star and has now moved base to Rome, from where he travels to an average of three international festivals in a month.

Namgyal is a regular instructor and performer at these events and also helps to organise some — like the Roma Salsa Festival and the Bologna Salsa Festival. “I moved to Italy because the best salsa dancers live here. India needs to grow a lot more but with proper training and investments, I believe there can be more dancers from the country,” says he.

Rocky Poonawala (centre) flew in tango super-couple Miriam Larici and Leonardo Barrionuevo for the Pune International Dance Congress 2011; (below) Calcutta-based dancers Sovit Biswal and Satyaki Saha recently performed with their team of students at the Goa International Latin Festival; Pic by RAVI CHOUDHURY

Even Sai Raja and Kirti Kishore of Latin Dance India have played their part in putting India on the global Latin map. Think participating in a world championship in Orlando, US, taking salsa workshops at the Sydney Salsa Congress and even judging the world championship qualifiers at the China Salsa Congress.

There’s more on the cards. Next year there will be as many as five to six international Latin dance festivals in India — starting with Delhi before heading to Pune, Bangalore and Goa.

Lourd Vijay, for example, has stepped up as a Latin dance, music and culture promoter in India. He’s the ambassador of the Hong Kong Salsa Congress and the head judge of the Asia Pacific Salsa Open Championship. This year his festival, the India International Salsa Congress (IISC), hosted the qualifying round for the World Championships to be held in Hong Kong next year.

Clearly, India is getting recognition as an exciting Latin dance destination. “I have sent my students to international competitions, where they’ve fared well, and I’m all for training people and having them represent India abroad,” says Richard David Tholoor, who has won several salsa championships in the past and conducts Latin dance workshops worldwide.

While Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai have always been at the forefront when it comes to dance, Pune and Calcutta have been heading the Latino way too. Take the Pune International Dance Congress for instance, organised by Rocky Poonawala who is determined to bring the Latin-dancing world to India. “The idea’s not just to travel abroad to festivals but to organise big enough events in India that will attract a global crowd,” he says. In fact, Anthony is looking forward to putting up bigger and better events next year — the India International Dance Congress in Bangalore in July and a festival in south Goa in November.

Moving east, Calcutta-based Aditya Upadhya has been making quite the Latino statement. His students Priyanka Sen and Rahul Manyapu recently won the All India Amateur Bachata Championship in Goa and he has been travelling with his students to all the major Latin festivals in Asia.

“I want people to perform because it transforms them,” says Upadhya, who runs Vive La Salsa. He also introduced a unique concept of performance, touted as the ‘VLS salsa threesome’ — going beyond conventional partner-work — which has impressed his international contemporaries.

Then there are Satyaki Saha and Sovit Biswal of Mambo City who made a mark by making it as finalists in the Asia Pacific Salsa Championship in Hong Kong in 2011. They will also be performing at the Turkish International Salsa Festival in 2012. But the duo’s biggest achievement came when they travelled with their students in Goa this year — a first for them. “Not only has the team been appreciated as performers but our students have been noticed as social dancers too,” says Saha.

While the thought of slipping on a pair of killer dancing heels and spinning like a top with what looks like no effort might be an intimidating idea for many, Latin dancing is less about flaunting your skills and more about getting the right groove and partying the Latin way.

As J. Lo sang in her rendition of the Lambada song: Dance the night away, live your life and stay young on the floor.