The Caribbean rhythms of salsa and meringue are an ideal antidote to the Russian winter. Erotic and sensual, Latin dancing will warm you up more than a sweat in a banya ever could. From theme nights at clubs to lessons at dance schools, you'll find all kinds of Latin venues in Moscow.

On Thursday nights, Karma Bar comes alive with twirling women and their passionate partners. Mikhail Sakayev, a regular at the club and famed as one of the best Russian salsa dancers in Moscow, says one of the attractions of salsa is "you can say what you want to a woman without words. Normally you meet a woman you like and then you go somewhere with her; here you dance first and talk later."

Fellow dance star Alexander Sherstykov says Moscow has strong Latino roots because so many Cubans came here to study in Soviet times, but that those who stayed on have families now and don't party much anymore.

Gilberto Lamadriz Olivares is a Cuban who studied chemistry in the U.S.S.R. and stayed on with his Russian wife and child. He is a teacher at Dance School Duncan and is also part of the dance group Proyecto Latino. He says he owes his life to salsa. "My parents met because of dance, got married because of dance and fell in love because of dance… I began to dance my mom's womb."

In contrast to Cuba, Russia lacks its own strong dance culture, which Olivares says makes Latin rhythms hard to teach here. But he stresses that Russians are far from prudish and aren't afraid to express themselves on the dance floor. "The Russians have followed our example and are really awake now. The women aren't scared; when they dance they think they are Alicia Alonso, that they are professionals."

According to Olivares, Dance School Duncan is the only dance school in Moscow with Cuban teachers. "I think it is possible to learn from anyone. But you need to know where this person is from. It is impossible for a Russian, a German, an English person or a French person to know how to dance as rhythmically as a Cuban. It's completely impossible."

But Sherstykov says that while it is worth attending lessons to learn the basics, "when you follow the rhythm and dance with your heart you don't need to know complex steps; you learn by imitation. Cubans never dance super-difficult moves, they dance according to their mood."

According to Sherstykov, the other key to salsa is to feel you are in a community of friends; the worst thing that can happen is for cliques to form. Both he and Sakayev remember La Bamba Latin night at Hotel Molodyozhnaya, which used to be the heart of the Latin American dance community, with "warmth and sadness" and lament that while they still play Latin music there, the clientele is not the same.

Sakayev says that these days he and the salsa "tusovka" (party crowd) goes to Papa John's on Tuesdays, Koko or Mediterraneo on Wednesdays, Karma Bar on Thursdays and then Karma Bar on Fridays and Saturdays until midnight, followed by Paradiso.

When asked what kind of job allows him to party five nights a week, Sakayev said he dances instead of watching TV and doesn't stay out all night.

Where to dance:

Tuesdays:

Papa John's

Latin dance night with free entrance from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. No lessons.

Voodoo Lounge

Lessons from 10 p.m. to midnight. Free entrance.

Wednesdays:

Koko

Mambo, salsa and cha cha cha lessons from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., then DJ Yeyo plays until midnight.

Mediterraneo

Live Latin American music from 10 p.m. until 1 a.m., with breaks.

Thursdays:

Hippopotam

Latin night from 10 p.m. Cuban dancer Jesus gives free classes at midnight. Entrance free until 1 a.m., then $2.

Cabana

Latin disco on Thursdays from 10 p.m. with lessons at midnight. Entrance and lessons are free.

Thursdays/Fridays/

Saturdays:

Karma Bar

On Thursdays free lessons begin at 7 p.m. After class, Latin music is played for the rest of the night from 9 p.m. to 2 or 3 a.m. Entrance is 200 rubles. Lessons with Cuban dancer Alain Linares begin at 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays and cost 80 rubles.

Fridays/Saturdays:

Paradiso

Latin American disco from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Dirty Dancing

Latin American disco Fridays and Saturdays from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Entrance is 100 rubles for women and 200 rubles for men. Cuban dance group Proyecto Latino teaches for 45 minutes at 11:30 p.m. and is followed by Panamanian DJs Yeyo and Eric.

Dance Schools:

Moscow Center of Modern Dance

They offer two Hispanic dance programs: That's Latin and Flamenco. See www.dancenter.ru/schedule.html for a full schedule.

Salsa-Rowesta, Russian-American Society of Social Dance

Students begin by trying out a bit of everything, from mambo to meringue, and then specialize. Classes cost 800-1000 rubles a month.

Dance School Duncan

Four Cuban teachers rotate. Their Latin dance program alternates between salsa, rumba, cha cha cha, flamenco and Latino. Seventy dollars for eight one-and-a-half hour lessons, and $10 for a one-off lesson.

Dance College Club

Nothing purely Latin here. It costs 600-1000 rubles for a monthly subscription of eight lessons.