Thinking about learning to dance salsa in London as a complete beginner? Then you've probably already had the argument with yourself. You want to try it. You also have a list of reasons why you'd be terrible at it.

We've heard them all. Here's the truth about the seven fears that keep North London beginners sitting on the sofa instead of standing on the dance floor - and why none of them should stop you from booking your first class.

"I've got absolutely no rhythm"

Welcome to the club. Most people who walk into their first class think they have no rhythm. Almost none of them are right.

Rhythm isn't a talent you're born with - it's a skill you practise. In your first session you'll learn the basic salsa count slowly, out loud, with your feet, at a pace that makes sense. You'll count before you dance. You'll hear where the beat lands. Then somewhere around the third or fourth class, it clicks, and you stop thinking about it altogether.

If you can clap along to a song you like, you can learn to dance salsa.

"I'll be the only one there on my own"

This is the fear we hear most from people in North London, and it's the one that dissolves fastest.

Our beginner classes are full of people who turned up solo. That's normal here - and it's actually the best way to start. We rotate partners in class, so nobody is left standing at the side, and you meet far more people than you would if you came with a friend. By the end of the session you'll have danced with half the room and swapped names with most of them.

Half our students arrive alone. Nobody stays that way.

"I'm too old for this"

Our classes run from twenty-somethings to people in their sixties and beyond. Nobody is counting.

Dancing is one of the few ways to get genuinely fit that doesn't feel like a punishment. You'll move for an hour, laugh a lot, and forget you were exercising at all. If you've ever looked at a gym membership and quietly known it wasn't for you, this is your way in - music, people, and a bit of cardio you don't notice doing.

"Everyone else will already know what they're doing"

Not in a beginners class, they won't.

Our 4-week beginners salsa and bachata course in Whetstone starts from zero. Everyone in the room is learning the same steps on the same night. You'll build up week by week: solo footwork and rhythm first, then partnerwork, then putting the two together. By week four you'll be dancing combinations that would have looked impossible on week one.

The people who look effortless have just been doing it longer than you. That's the whole secret.

"I'll be too nervous to walk through the door"

So arrive five minutes early, tell us it's your first time, and let us do the rest. Our instructors are used to first-night nerves - they expect them.

The hardest part of the evening is the doorstep. Once you're inside and the music starts, it genuinely does disappear. Come as you are. Wear something comfortable you can move in, bring a water bottle, and leave the rest to us.

"I don't know anything about salsa or bachata - what's the difference?"

You don't need to know. That's why you're coming.

Very roughly: salsa is faster and more upbeat, bachata is slower and more romantic. Both are danced in pairs, both are social, and both are far easier to pick up than they look. Our beginners course covers both, so you find out which one you enjoy rather than guessing.

"What if I can't keep up, or I hate it?"

Then you've lost an evening and gained a story. But that's rarely how it goes.

You can go at your own pace, ask questions, and repeat the course if you want to. And if you want to test the water before committing, our salsa, bachata and Latin dance classes in Whetstone and across North London are open to drop-ins - plus Thursday socials where you can dance in a friendly room with no pressure and no performance.

Ready to find out what you can actually do?

You don't need to know how to dance. Yet. That's the whole point of a beginners class.

Pick a night, turn up, and let the music do the rest. Book your place on the 4-week beginners salsa and bachata course in Whetstone and give yourself four weeks to prove your two left feet wrong.

We'll see you on the dance floor.

Join our upcoming Salsa For Beginners Course in Whetstone. 2 Left Feet Dancers Welcome