Philip Miha and Sheila Mello are two of most popular names in Latin American dance.

Miha, a dance teacher since 1987, uses his experience as a physical education teacher to make Zouk, a dance of Caribbean origin, more acrobatic. He teaches at several dance schools in Sao Paulo, oversees Zouk performances at two major clubs in Brazil and choreographs Zouk events. He even hosts a Latin American dance festival in his country.

Zouk, a rhythm based sensuous dance from the Caribbean, is used with traditional high-energy Lambada dance to create contemporary form that is very popular among youngsters and in night clubs across Brazil. It is danced in couples. The dance is often referred to as Lambazouk.

Showgirl Mello, a ballet and modern dancer by training, is one of Brazil's most sought after dancers, specialising in almost every genre of Latin American dances and ballet.

'Latin American dances have an interesting origin,' Flavio Werneck, head of the cultural section of the embassy of Brazil, told IANS.

Unlike Kathak and Bharatnatyam, which evolved in the Muslim courts and in the temples of south India respectively, Latin American dances mostly originated in brothels and shanty towns in the beginning of the 19th century after capitalism came to Latin America, Werneck explained.

'The workers, mostly farm hands and industrial workers, and prostitutes, developed the dances and composed music as post-work entertainment; which is why we usually dance in couples or in a crowd. Our dances are spontaneous, free-flowing and sensuous. Many Latin American dances have African influences because of the history of slave trade in the continent,' Werneck said.