Step into Pasadena Bar on any Thursday night, and you will find yourself transported out of Kigali and into the Caribbean. Each week, a crowd flocks to this Gikondo bodega for several hours of Salsa dancing.

Beginning around 10 PM, a diverse mix of dancers, some seasoned Salsa and Merengue veterans and others completely new to it, take to the dance floor. Old and young, make and female, a mix of nationalities and backgrounds, all move in time to the loud Latino music blaring from the speakers. Jimmy Rudahunga leads the group, first teaching the basic steps; left foot forward, right foot back, adding in spins and side steps as group follows along.

After Rudahunga's demonstration, the music continues to play for hours, and patrons grab partners to show off their moves.

Salsa originated in Cuba and the surrounding Caribbean islands, with roots in Afro-Cuban Rumba dance in the 1920s, and has since been popularized around the world. Salsa can be heard all over the world, and you would be hard pressed to find a city in world without at least a small community of Salsa dancers.

Rudahunga learned to Salsa on the very same dance floor on which he now teaches. After Pasadena's former Salsa instructor returned to his native Belgium, Rudahunga took the task into his own hands, and began offering free lessons every Thursday. He's now been teaching at Pasadena for five years, and has a loyal following of fans.

Standing on the edge of dance floor, he watches couples as they swing, dip and step to the beat. "I just love seeing other people dancing, people that I've taught", he says.

Rudahunga hopes that Salsa's popularity will grow, and that he can start holding more classes in more locations around Kigali.

One dancer described the appeal of Salsa's accessibility: "All it takes is one hour of learning the steps, and you will be a Salsa dancer." No need to be a professional, anyone can join in. Once the basic moves are mastered, dancers can improvise in countless ways, from spins to lifts, shimmies to complex footwork; each dancer adds a bit of his or her own style. At Pasadena, one dancer mixes traditional Intore dance moves in with his Salsa.

Ian Munyankindi has been frequenting Pasadena's Salsa nights for the past four years, and is clearly one of more skilled dancers in the room. He says Salsa is unlike most other activities in Kigali. "It's a little bit different, because in Salsa, you're just there to have fun. It's not like dancing at other bars. At Salsa, you have a good connection with your partner, you meet lots of people. It's a very friendly atmosphere."

Perhaps it is the cross-cultural roots, in both Latin and African music styles, or maybe it is something about the quick, yet easy to learn movements that make up the basic steps, but Salsa has an undeniably universal appeal. It is more than just a dance, it is something that brings people together, no matter their differences.