IT'S ten minutes into the warm-up and most of the eager attendees at the newest Salsa club to arrive in Herefordshire are exuding slightly more than an attractive glow. Venezuelan Thomas Melendez is determined to get surplus layers of clothing peeled off, ready for the real work to begin.

What is the increasing appeal of salsa all about? Why are 60 people packed into the back room of a Ledbury pub? What's Thomas's secret?

"It's a definite bug," a recent convert tells me.

"You either love it or hate it."

I look about the class for some sort of common denominator and realise that there isn't one. A man in his fifties wearing a cravat looks like he's having the best fun ever. I'm intrigued.

Teachers Thomas and Anna Procter met through dance in Cheltenham, where the salsa scene has taken hold. A healthy smattering of the Ledbury number has travelled to include this new mid-week class in their salsa schedule, which means there's at least a backbone of experience in the room.

A couple of ladies have just returned from a salsa weekend at Pontins where they spent entire days learning and practising new steps, but there's no elitism in salsa. "Whether someone's never danced a step before, or whether they're a seasoned performer, when it comes to freestyle everyone pairs up," Norman tells me.

"If you've got a good partner, you're made" Joy adds.

There's a mix of cultures in the group, Colombian-born local Blanca Rey Surman is responsible for bringing the club to Ledbury, and it's true that dance breaks down all barriers.

It's perfectly acceptable to go to the class on your own - in fact it's better because you're forced to stay on the floor and not dive for the relative security of the bar every time the music fades.

Anna and Thomas do look amazing (pictured below) when they're dancing together, but it's not like aerobics where you gaze in awe at your elfin like scantily-clad teacher and lose the will to live. They sweat with the rest of the class.

The music's great and the wood-sprung floor of The Royal Oak is getting the pounding it was designed for.

As a means of having fun, salsa is a given. It also gets your heart pumping and your spirits lifted.

For three hours on a Wednesday nights this small corner of Herefordshire could be anywhere in the South Americas.

The temperature rises, someone flings open the fire door to let in some fresh air and the rhythm pulsates. "Arrruba!".

l Thomas and Anna teach a beginner's class from 8-9pm and an advanced class from 9-10pm every Wednesday night at The Royal Oak, Ledbury. Dance is a mixture of Salsa, Mambo and Merengue and beginners are welcome. Hereford Times male readers who arrive before 8pm are invited to try a class for free. For more information contact 01531 635187.