In the past Dr. Usukuma Ekuere has represented Canada in the World Salsa Championships in Miami, Florida. Ekuere has come a long way since he first set eyes on the seductive dance as a graduate student in England. He was working on his PhD when he took a break from his studies, went to a party and saw couples dancing the salsa. "I looked at them and thought, 'wow, it's absolutely beautiful'," said Ekuere, who originally hails from Nigeria. "I had never even heard of salsa--it was a total shock. I just needed to dance and now it's what I love to do." He signed up for lessons and soon became addicted to salsa. When he arrived in Edmonton, his passion for the Latin number did not quit. A number of years ago, someone from University of Alberta Campus Recreation approached a campus group called SALSA (Spanish and Latin Student Association) about finding a dance teacher. "Everybody looked at me because I was, supposedly, the dancer," said Ekuere. Since then he has spent most Sunday nights turning beginners into salsa pros. "The greatest joy is to see the difference from day one--where a lot of people don't know much about the dance at all and they really struggle--to the next classes where they get better and better. By the sixth class, I'm just blown away by how much they learn." When he's not teaching, he's choreographing and practicing for international competitions. And just what is it about the salsa that Ekuere finds so appealing? "It's very intimate, very sensual and it just looks so sexy when you watch it. I thought it was beautiful to watch, but when I got to dance it--it's just so fun. You almost don't know what is going on around you. You get lost in it. It's amazing."