At almost minus 15 degrees outside, the temperature in Oulun Lyseo, off Kajaaninkatu on a Tuesday night, is far from chilly. The sports hall is enveloped in the tunes of Cuban salsa – the word means sauce. The instructor Kimmo Lasanen awards me a welcoming smile and my boyfriend drags me further in.  I join a row of Finnish women facing a distinctly shorter row of men, and as the class warms up I’m already sweating like a canapé.

Salsa, in which you step on the beat, welds traditional African, Cuban and Latin-American rhythm, and reputedly first really took off outside Cuba in New York – sometime between the fourties and seventies. The journey to Oulu has taken a little longer but before the end of the class I’ve even learned turning and have made two important discoveries; one, Salsa is easy to learn;  two, it’s real exercise.

As you’d expect, much of the fun originates with the instructor. Lasanen, who in Havana, Cuba took lessons with local professional dancers, not only dances Salsa, but swing, Latin, and Finnish folk. “In general I like all couples’ dances,” he states. ”I like the social aspect of dancing.”

Lasanen has been teaching Oulu Salsa to beginners for over a year now.  “It’s a challenge. Every class is fun and that’s what counts. I think, I’m doing people a favour.” When learning to dance himself, he already considered giving classes in Oulu. “No one else was doing it; I wanted to share my interest and give people a possibility to learn Latin dance.”

For these students, Latin dance doesn’t stop at the lessons. Never Grow Old, the chilled-out reggae bar on Hallituskatu in the city centre, offers Latin music every Tuesday night, right after the last class – a space to try out what they just learned.

On top of the regular classes, Lasanen has organised a Salsa weekend for March 17 and 18: friends he met in Cuba, now moved to Finland, are coming to give classes to everyone interested for a whole weekend – although it is also possible to participate for a shorter time. Places are still available for men or couples.

When asked who he would recommend Salsa to, he answers: “Everyone who likes dancing couple dances and who likes music. And it’s good exercise!”  Many of his students give the same reasons. Xavier, 40, from France, likes dancing and has been going to two classes at once for over six months already. Jenni, 26, from Oulu, just loves dancing. “It’s great exercise. Passionate! The music as well as the dancing!”

My boyfriend and I leave the sports hall certain to return Not only is this a great place to Salsa, but also to meet people of all kinds, to forget everything else for a while, and, simply, to feel the rhythm. Closing the door to the patters of Salsa music, we can’t help but dance through the snow, as if oblivious to the cold.