How do you have fun, keep fit and make new friends all at the same time? Women's Editor Christen Pears visits a salsa session.

IT'S a cold, rainy night in Sunderland but inside the SR1 caf and bar, things are hotting up. Around 80 people are packed into the room - some downstairs, others on the gallery - and they're all moving to the infectious salsa rhythm that pounds out of the speakers. Some are more adept, others try out the steps gingerly, but everyone seems to be enjoying themselves.

Salsa's origins are Afro-Caribbean, blending dances such as the cha cha, mambo and rumba. It was brought to America in the 1960s by Cuban emigrants and is now danced across the globe. Former research chemist and now full-time dance teacher Sokol Abazi is hoping to make the North-East a leading salsa centre.

Sokol was born and brought up in Albania but when the Communist regime collapsed in the early 1990s, he took the opportunity to leave for Switzerland, where he studied chemistry. From there, he moved to Oxford to carry out research but found it difficult to socialise - until he discovered salsa.

"I went to this place and there was a great atmosphere. Everyone was friendly, everyone mixed with everybody else. I was hooked," he says.

He started dancing three and four times a week and when he moved to the North-East, to take up a post at Sunderland University, he carried on. He went to classes in Newcastle but after a few weeks, the teacher left and he took over.

"I just went up and asked if I could take over and that was it. It all started as a joke but four years on it is now my job."

Until last year, Sokol worked for a company in Durham but he didn't feel particularly satisfied and decided to make his living from salsa teaching.

He established the North-East Latin American Dance Association (NELADA), which runs classes and holds events across the region. He's currently organising the region's first salsa conference, which will take place at Tiger Tiger bar in Newcastle in April and will attract more than 20 of the best teachers from across Britain.

He says: "All the big events that take place tend to be in London or the South-East but we want to change that. There are some very good dancers up here and we should make the most of that."

It usually takes a beginner a few sessions to get to grips with the basic moves, which can be frustrating, but according to Sokol, it's worth the effort. It's challenging whatever the level, he says. "It isn't like there are just 10, 20 or even 100 moves you can do. There's always something else to learn and that keeps people interested, even if they've been doing it a long time. They always want more."

But for every serious salsa enthusiast, there are dozens who do it just for fun.

"There is a very strong social side. People come to dance but they have a drink and a chat as well. It's a good night out and you get to interact with lots of people. It isn't just like going for a drink down the pub. It's different, special, and you feel a sense of achievement as you improve."

It isn't easy, and lots of people are demoralised when they first start, but after a few sessions, most of them get the hang of it.

Chris Wallace from Chester-le-Street is a self-confessed salsa addict who dances four times a week, five if she can manage it. Wearing a lacy red skirt, she's up on the dance floor before the session even starts, warming up and trying out a few moves.

"I used to tap dance but I had surgery on my knee and couldn't do that any more. I was looking for something different. I tried line dancing but that wasn't for me," she explains.

"The first time I went was with a friend and I absolutely loved it. The next day, I was out buying a teach yourself salsa video and two CDs."

That was two years ago and she says now she can't imagine her life without salsa. "There's something about the music. It gets into your soul and it energises you. It's also a great way to keep fit. I've lost a stone-and-a-quarter since I started."

Her daughter often joins her, as well as a 17-year-old friend of the family. "I think it's lovely that young boys want to come along and dance with old women like me. It attracts people of all ages, from all walks of society," she laughs.

There are around 80 people at SR1, ranging from students to those in their 60s. Some are with friends, others have come alone. They're split into two groups - the more advanced on the balcony, beginners downstairs. The sessions begin with classes where the less experienced learn the basics. A few people put their hands up to say it's their first time.

"The thing about salsa is that it doesn't matter whether you've done it before, whether you're the best dancer," says Sokol. "Everyone makes you feel welcome and it's just fun."

* For more information about salsa classes in the region, log onto www.nelada.com or call Sokol on 07903 190 869.