Salsa Festival: So you think you can't take the heat?

The sultry dancing style of Cuba is sweeping across dance floors this weekend.

The second Mzansi Cape Town Salsa Festival started yesterday and has attracted around 800 dancers from South Africa and 40 other countries for professional dance performances and workshops.

Festival director Theo Mseka said: "Part of the festival is to sell Cape Town as a tourist destination within dance communities around the world. The 'salsa holiday' concept works really well for Cape Town and we have seen an increase in interest from international guests."

The beauty of salsa is its ability to bring together people of different ages, races and backgrounds.

Mark Anthony Sheppard, who runs a dance school in the Ukraine, said: "Salsa is a lifestyle, about music and dance. It's about meeting people and having a connection with people. We all speak one language. We don't see race or religion."

Back in Cape Town for a third time, he said he saw the city as offering a "dance vacation experience".

Ghanaian Shon Homenya, 28, learned how to salsa from watching YouTube videos.

"People don't respect [dance] as a profession, they don't take you seriously. In Africa we are still learning and growing slowly," she said.

The festival is not just for pros. Even if you have two left feet, take this chance to learn moves from top dancers.

• The event runs until Sunday at the River Club, Observatory. www.alloutsalsa.com