"Show me how you'd hold a steering wheel," asks 20-year-old Latin, Bachata and Broadway Jazz expert Jason Arland, as we take our position in front of a mirrored wall in the brightly-lit studio at Bandra's House Of Wow. While otherwise, we would have raised our fists mid-air confidently, it's difficult to hold them steady when a pair of black eye pads covers our face. We follow Arland's instructions for 15 minutes before we can learn the most basic footwork of Latin dance — two tiny steps to the right, two tiny steps to the left, each followed by a thumka and then a turn too. As Arland puts on a lovely eight-beat Latin track, we feel claustrophobic and timidly ask if we can take off the blindfold. "Not yet," says the Nagpur-born dancer, who has participated in several national and international competitions including International Latin Fiesta and shifted to the city last year to work full-time as a makeup and hairstylist. He takes our hands into his, and applies pressure on each of them in turn, as a cue to turn from that particular side.

Jason Arland teaches this reporter a basic turn in Latin dance. Pics/Nimesh Dave