On a sunny Wednesday evening in April, a handful of people lined up on the dance floor of the Conga Room to take their first lesson in salsa dancing. Ruben Zamudio III, a dance instructor who also tends bar, addressed his class.

“We’re going to start with the meringue, because it’s the easiest,” he said. “If you can count to two, you can do this dance. If you’ve got a little attitude, that’s a good start.”

Zamudio stood in front of the line of students, demonstrating the proper posture and the first steps. Some students giggled a bit as they began shifting their knees and hips in time to the upbeat Latin American music. Before long, they had progressed from shuffling their way across the floor to pairing up, with the men tentatively twirling the ladies.

Zamudio has been teaching dance for five years. It began unofficially among friends, but eventually “blossomed,” he said. The New Mexico native now teaches salsa dancing once a month at the Hotel Fort Des Moines; Tuesdays at Raccoon River Brewing Co., 200 10th St.; and Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at the Conga Room, 1871 N.W 86th St., Clive; and Sundays at the School of Classical Ballet and Dance, 2150 Delavan Drive, West Des Moines.

It was the success of the salsa events at Raccoon River Brewing Co. and the Hotel Fort Des Moines, put on by Salsa Iowa, that helped create the Conga Room, according to its manager, Pat Oswald. Oswald’s Coffeehouse Productions is the parent company of Salsa Iowa.

Salsa Iowa staged its first event at the Hotel Fort Des Moines in January 2000. It attracted 350 people that night, and the montly dances at the hotel continue to draw a crowd. Its not uncommon for Raccoon River to have 80 to 100 people come in for salsa dancing on Tuesdays, according to Oswald. He first began promoting Latin dance because, “I love music and I love to see people having a good time.” Late in 1999, the Hotel Fort Des Moines offered him a chance to fill its “dark nights,” evenings on which a music act hadn’t been booked a few months in advance. He put Latin dancing in the open spaces on the hotel’s calendar, often promoting them through word of mouth and a network of friends. Oswald has an e-mail list of 2,500 names, which he uses to promote concerts and events.

Oswald says for years friends have been asking him to find a more permanent base for Latin dance. He got the chance while moonlighting driving limousines for Layne Gronau. Gronau bought a bar called Woody’s, and was trying to decide what to do with the space.

“I kept telling him, ‘Latin bar, Latin bar,’” Oswald said.

Eventually Gronau agreed, and the Conga Room opened March 17. The bar offers a techno night with DJ Raj on Sundays and a service industry night (which aims to give bartenders and waitresses a place to party) Mondays with a mixture of techno and world music. Friday and Saturday are no-smoking salsa nights, and on those evenings, 100 to 200 people usually pass through the bar’s doors. Oswald isn’t concerned with his bar competing with his monthly events at the Hotel Fort Des Moines, as each attracts a different crowd. The hotel event, for example, allows individuals younger than 21 to participate. The hotel even allows him to promote the Conga Room by giving out T-shirts.

“People come here because they want a place to relax and get away from what’s on their minds or just meet new people,” Oswald said. “Salsa is great exercise and great fun. The women come expecting to dance with 20 different men, and the men come expecting to dance with 20 different women. There’s none of that ‘you can’t dance with my girlfriend’ attitude, so everyone has a good time.”

He advises anyone considering salsa dancing to get up and give it a try. The free lessons are a good way to ease into it. Zamudio advises starting with the music.

“There’s no sense learning a pattern of steps and counts if you don’t know how the music connects to it,” he said. “The music tells you everything you need to know.”