In one hour Monday night I was stepped on, kissed, kicked and twirled across the floor by three men I had never met. I walked into The Roux House, latched onto my boyfriend’s arm, wondering what we had gotten ourselves into.There were a group of people standing in a circle, and they motioned us to join them. There were men and women, young and old, swaying to the music playing on the stereo. I slowly started to loosen up, and before I knew it I had ditched my boyfriend and a large man in tight jeans and cowboy boots was leading me around the room. This doesn’t sound like most people’s Monday nights, but for those taking tango lessons it is. Fuad Adra, a New Orleans tango instructor, teaches Argentine tango lessons every Monday night at The Roux House downtown. Single men and women and couples come to learn the tango, meet new people and have a good time. “You can come in solo, or you can come in as a couple,” Adra said. “You make friends no matter what because you’re all struggling together.”While many people make friends through the lessons, some become more than friends after dancing the tango together. “If you come in solo a lot of times you end up leaving duo,” Adra said. “It’s a good place to meet people.” The cost for each tango lesson is $10, but University students with a valid ID can attend for only $5.Adra said everyone is welcome to come to one complimentary lesson to see what the tango is all about. He is convinced that one lesson is all it takes to get hooked. “Come try it, and have a beer,” he said. “Once the tango grabs you, you won’t want to stop dancing.” The tango must have grabbed some Baton Rouge residents, because Fadra said the turnout has been great in the year he has been teaching tango at The Roux House. “I mean look at this tonight,” he said Monday. “Hurricane Gustav, the curfew, and a major traffic jam, and we still have people here.”Down the street from The Roux House, 600 Main has been offering salsa lessons every Friday night since they opened in April. Sara Meighan, owner of 600 Main, said the turnout there has also been good.”It’s mostly people that plan and get together on their own and they come together as a large group,” Meighan said. Both Adra and Meighan said they do not see many college-aged students at the lessons and they hope that more will start to come. “We’re not getting the students that I think we can get,” Adra said. “We’re playing a lot of contemporary music … so hopefully that will attract some of the college crowd.”But Chermaine Cole, kinesiology freshman, said she doesn’t think many college students would be interested in taking dance lessons.”I just think probably some college students might think it’s too wack or corny,” Cole said. “The majority probably won’t [be interested], but I think there would be a few [students] that would like it.” – – – -Contact Victoria Toups at [email protected]