Music is a universal language but salsa and bhangra rarely speak. Which is silly: just as salsa emerged from the Cuban son form and united Latin America, so did bhangra — the lively music and dance of the Punjab region — reach out to the Indian diaspora, taking Bollywood and Hollywood along the way. Last night the Bhangra Latina project brought the two genres to the table and created a fabulous hybrid, an East/West fusion with a shimmy and a whirl.

The brainchild of producer/percussionist Kuljit Bhamra, artistic director of the Society for the Promotion of New Music, the project engaged from the start. A band on everything from congas to trumpet and tabla played pieces commissioned by SPNM: Paul Buckley’s Invitation was a joyous meeting of melodies, rhythms and timbres driven by dhol drum and visualised by the Vasda Punjab Bhangra Dancers. Chris Gander’s Sangita Bhairanova saw Shahid Abbas Khan singing from a North Indian raga, with musicians improvising on various themes.

Freedom of expression was paramount, whether in Nico Bentley’s jazzy When Einstein Came To Town or the abandoned dancing that came with Cevanne Horrocks-Hopayian’s Dark Garden. Professional salsera Alessia Bonacci sizzled in a routine that saw her lifted aloft, legs akimbo; a Bhangra Dancer spread his arms, shimmied his shoulders, hopped about. But when they eventually danced together, they clicked