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A better reason, one which is drawing many young people, is love. Tanisha Chauhan, 22, a senior consultant with a PR firm, discovered that it’s not easy to be single in the city when she shifted base from her hometown to Delhi. The irregular meals were beginning to show and fitting into her formals was getting tougher by the day. “Exercise was boring so I joined jazz dance lessons,” says Chauhan. The Ludhiana girl admits that the prospect of falling in love over slow jazz moves looked enticing. She plunged into the course but was soon struggling for breath. “In the beginning, it is 80 per cent exercise and 20 per cent dance. At the end of the exercise session, everybody looked so sweaty and worn out, nobody seemed attractive or dateable anymore,” laughs Chauhan.

But even if the prospect of love fizzles out, it makes business sense to keep the dancing shoes on. Dance is the networker’s greatest tool. “From the time that you have changed clothes, worn your shoes, taken a water break, business cards, phone numbers and e-mail addresses have been exchanged. Between learning how to do the Coffee Grinder and the Mashed Potatoes, meetings have been planned out,” says Chauhan.

Jeffrey Vardon, who runs the Hot Shoe Dance Company in Chennai, says, “Money has made a difference. Not just women, men too are joining dance courses. People travel a lot, and if you are clubbing with your business partners, it helps to have a basic knowledge of dance, just to show that you are familiar with the club culture. I have had 50-year-olds coming in for primers on shaking a leg.” Shelly Athma, who has taught dance in Pune for 15 years, now feels the art form was always in vogue. “It was just that people could not afford it. But with the rising living standards, everybody is making that extra effort,” she says.

Fitness too, is an important aspect. At Apollo Hospital at Sarita Vihar, Delhi, doctors have been taking dance lessons twice a week for the last few years. “We teach them salsa and jiving, and it’s mostly a freewheeling session where they can de-stress,” says Aamir Ahmed of Ball Rumours Dance Studio, who conducts the classes.

Which are the most popular dances? Bollywood or freestyle dance wins hands down. After all, we have been dancing to Meri yaad ki shaadi hai for ages now. Salsa is a close second. “Salsa is the most social dance, not at all as stiff and technical as ballroom dance,” says salsa teacher in Chandigarh’s Ozone Fitness ‘n’ Spa, Varun DS Rana. “Unlike ballroom dance which is elitist, salsa belongs to everyone. It has a lead and follow, it’s interactive and you can follow the moves to any number.”

But as we wriggle into our dance suits with gusto, it’s perhaps only fair that the question does not go a-begging. Are we good dancers? Says Kaytee Namgyal, salsa trainer and founder of Salsa India institute, “Indians are extremely influenced by Bollywood music, which always has lyrics. That is why they aren’t able to interpret music without words. They dance to words, not to the tunes. Remove the words, and I’d say 80 per cent of Indians would be lost. But they are fast learners. All they need is proper guidance.” Or, as Damini would say, all they need is a mirror.
(Inputs from Dipanita Nath, Anushree Majumdar, Jaya Menon, Shveta Vashisht Gaur, Saurav Kumar, Jas Kiran Kaur)

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