We teach the Merengue at our Fairfax Virginia dance studio as well as our Rockville Maryland dance studio and our Silver Spring Maryland dance studio.”
Merengue is originally from Columbia, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. Depending on the region, the speed ranges from really slow to really fast. The faster the music gets, the more the patterns are danced in circles and are without too many variations to the dance. All patterns are done in counts of eight. The word “Mer” means water in French, and Merengue is designed to give a feeling of buoyancy that you get in water.
Learn How To Dance Merengue
As a rhythm dance Merengue is danced with the feet landing flat on the dance floor while taking very small steps. Merengue uses Cuban motion as well as Nonega motion. And, as a rhythm dance, Merengue is not danced in contact, therefore the frame is much narrower.
Merengue is considered a dance of interpretation as it enables you to move to the way the music motivates you to.
Merengue music is very lively usually played with lots of horns, drums, Spanish guitar as well as other Latin instruments. The music is played with a drum roll on the 4 and the 8th beat. The fourth beat is syncopated and not quite as strong.
The best thing about merengue dancing is the freedom it brings with the beat of the music.
This is a style that embraces improvised creativity depending on the speed and motion of the music. Encapsulating the spirit of Puerto Rico, Columbia and the Dominican Republic, this is one art form that challenges you to keep up. Learn how to dance merengue by enrolling in professional dance classes at Now and Then Dance Studios.