['The', 'rhythm', 'of', 'romance/Woo', 'your', 'Valentine', 'with', 'Latin', 'dance', 'Page', '3', 'of', '3', '7,', '*', 'Salsa', 'is', 'arguably', 'the', 'most', 'sophisticated,', 'sexy', 'and', 'graceful', 'of', 'the', 'top', 'Latin', 'dances.', 'Salsa', 'achieved', 'its', 'unique', 'sound', 'in', 'the', 'New', 'York', 'melting', 'pot,', 'where', 'Afro-Cuban', '"son"', 'mixed', 'with', 'Puerto', 'Rican', 'and', 'American', 'jazz', 'influences,', 'among', 'others.', '"Salsa,"', 'Diaz', 'explained,', '"has', 'complex', 'rhythms.', 'The', 'emphasis', 'is', 'on', 'the', 'upbeat', 'rather', 'than', 'the', 'downbeat.', 'Percussion', 'takes', 'up', 'most', 'of', 'the', 'band', '-', 'it', 'might', 'be', 'a', 'nine-piece', 'band', 'with', 'five', 'members', 'playing', 'percussion,', 'but', 'each', 'will', 'be', 'playing', 'a', 'different', 'rhythm."', 'To', 'hook', 'into', 'this', 'rich', 'groove,', 'a', 'novice', 'dancer', 'must', 'learn', 'that', 'dancing', 'is', 'not', 'an', 'intellectual', 'activity,', 'Diaz', 'said.', '"I', 'skip', 'their', 'brains', 'and', 'talk', 'to', 'their', 'bodies."', 'James', 'and', 'Leah', 'Bunting,', 'professional', 'dancers', 'and', 'dance', 'instructors,', 'also', 'find', 'that', 'salsa’s', 'complicated', 'rhythms', 'are', 'a', 'stumbling', 'block', 'for', 'the', 'beginning', 'dancer.', 'The', 'couple', 'teach', 'a', 'free', 'salsa', 'lesson', 'at', "Brasil's,", 'an', 'Oid', 'City', 'restaurant', 'and', 'club', 'that', 'can', 'be', 'quite', 'a', 'scene', 'on', 'weekends,', 'packing', '200', 'people', 'inte', 'the', 'cozy', 'upstairs', 'space.', 'But', 'on', 'Wednesdays,', 'when', 'the', 'Buntings', 'teach,', "there's", 'more', 'room', 'to', 'dance', 'and', 'to', 'learn.', 'People', 'come,', 'James', 'said,', 'because', 'salsa', 'is', 'sexy', 'and', 'also', 'good', 'exercise.', 'But', 'many', 'people', 'have', 'a', 'hard', 'time', '"feeling', 'the', 'music,', 'understanding', 'the', 'music,"', 'he', 'said.', '"You', 'hear', 'the', 'singers', 'and', 'the', 'brass', 'and', 'the', 'beat', 'all', 'at', 'the', 'same', 'time,', 'so', "it's", 'hard', 'to', 'focus', 'on', 'one', 'thing', 'and', 'dance."', 'Once', "you've", 'got', 'it,', 'though,', '"the', 'music', 'gets', 'under', 'your', 'skin,”', 'he', 'said.', '"For', 'me,', "it's", 'the', 'rhythm', 'of', 'it.', 'And', 'dancing', 'is', 'a', 'different', 'way', 'to', 'communicate', 'with', 'a', 'partner.”', 'Both', 'he', 'and', 'Diaz', 'mention', 'the', 'romantic', 'possibilities', 'offered', 'by', 'a', 'modicum', 'of', 'dancing', 'expertise.', '"I', 'was', 'taught', 'to', 'dance', 'with', 'women', 'of', 'all', 'ages', 'at', '5', 'years', 'old,"', 'Diaz', 'said.', 'Now', 'American', 'men', 'are', 'beginning', 'to', 'learn', 'that', '"men', 'who', 'dance', 'have', 'an', 'incredible', 'advantage."', 'Bunting', 'concurred.', '"Knowing', 'how', 'to', 'dance', 'is', 'the', 'best', 'pickup', 'line."', 'But', 'the', 'recent', 'groom', 'quickly', 'added,', '"Of', 'course,', 'I', "don't", 'need', 'pickup', 'lines', 'anymore."', ' ', 'Daily', 'News', '|', 'Classifieds', '|', 'Yellow', 'Pages', '|', 'Money', '|', 'HOME', 'team', '|', 'Heaith', '|', 'Philly', 'Life', '|', 'Headgone', 'Zone', '|', 'Video', '|', 'Site', 'Index|', 'Search', '©2000', 'Philadelphia', 'Newspapers', 'Inc.', ' ', ' ', 'http://www.', 'phillynews.com/daily_news/2000/Feb/14/features/FCOV', '14', 'htm', '2/29/00', 'PrTPEs8Es02']