Lonely singles are rumba-ing their way to romance and tango-ing their way to true love in the newest craze to hit Birmingham.
 Speed dancing is the latest thing to hit the city as lonely hearts are becoming fast movers in the dating game. International dance coach Richard Rose set up the first session at his studio, Rich-ardz in New Road, Rubery this week, and has been delighted at the response. At the class dancers change their partners every two minutes and choose their favourite at the end of the lesson. The twinkle-toed pair are then invited to a second, free session, where Richard hopes romance will blossom. Richard, a 46-year-old Latin American dance coach and judge, who lives in Edgbaston said: "Quite a few single mums come to my salsa classes and there are usually more women than men. "Through talking to them I came up with the idea of speed dancing, along the lines of speed dating, in which men and women spend two minutes talking to each other and then choose who they would like to chat to for longer." He added: "In speed dancing they take part in a salsa class, changing partners every two minutes. "The men and women are each given a number and at the end of the class were able to decide who was their favourite dance partner. "People tend to be a bit shy and I am hoping more people will turn out next week." The two-hour speed dancing session costs £10-a-head including a free drink and is open to anyone who is single and not necessarily those who can already dance. * Anyone wanting to book a place can call 0121 453 4142. ...but for something a little less frantic Birmingham is leading the way when it comes to the bizarre dating game. These pictures are a glimpse of how the new Dinner In The Dark system is set to add spice to the traditional dating game. Instead of being able to gaze longingly into each other's eyes, participating daters will be groping in pitch blackness...for their cutlery. Online dating experts Yahoo! Personals is premiering its event in the city at One Ten, Birmingham in Colmore Row on May 26. | 
