Stamp out the rhythm

It's countdown to Carnival time. Appliquè those feathers and tone that tush. The dresscode's positively indecent, and the dance moves are pure samba.

Samba has been charged with a celebratory spirit for centuries. It was developed in 16th-century Brazil as a defiant dance by African and indigenous Indian slaves and the Portuguese, who took the round dance and the parading tradition and transformed it with sensual moves, sexual sways, navel touching and the energy and thrust of tribal dance. By the 18th century its content was considered so corrupting it was banned in Britain but since then it has swept from the slums of Rio to the Royal Courts.

Undeniably steamy

Don't make the mistake of confusing samba with salsa. Where salsa is the dance of couples, samba is like a flirtatious mating call - a celebration of the individual. Unlike salsa, which keeps you on your toes, samba uses the heel - placing weight forward on bent leg and stamping out the rhythm between beats. Sure, salsa can get undeniably steamy. But nothing compares to the kinetic energy of 50 men and women shimmying, stamping and singing to the ear-splintering loud, live, samba drummers. To limber up, our tutor at the Paraìso School of Samba leads us through a whistle-stop warm-up before plunging us into instruction - breaking down the steps into their various, robotic elements before adding the arms, exaggerating the moves and putting it all to a whirr of speed.

Bumping and grinding

If the body's the chassis, the hips are its pistons for women - legs for men - with everything lubricated by a slick of sexual bumping, grinding and swaying. The result? Aerobic exhaustion and a tsunami of endorphins. A quick scan shows some pretty enviable physiques too.

Predictably, the fitness industry has seized on samba. In Chicago you can burn 600 calories in an hour-long class that blends samba, merengue and mambo cha-cha - and blanches out all the colour and celebration of the dance in the process. In the absence of a leotard-clad power-tutor however, get some pneumatic moves pre-Carnival, add a couple of thousand revellers, feather plumage and some Bacardi Breezers for the ultimate in authentic and aerobic Latin spirit.

We trained with the Paraìso School of Samba in London, classes Sat 6.30pm, £5. Tel: 020 8452 0053, www.paraisosamba.co.uk To find your nearest samba school visit www.sambistas.org.uk