1. Easy as One, Two, Three, Four
One of the most popular forms of Latin dance is the merengue. It's fun and stylish but easy to perform. The merengue comes from the Dominican Republic, and it is considered to be its official dance. Haiti also recognizes the dance with national pride. You can do the merengue to Latin music with a strong kick drum, which helps dancers keep the simple beat of one, two, three, four. Move to the beat the same with march steps of one, two, three, four. You can also try the merengue to an eight count beat. Keep knees soft; raise up and pump heels for a march step. Practice stepping in place at first; then begin to move the steps to do the merengue. As a couple, begin to rotate around to an eight count pattern with small march steps while facing each other. With eight steps, you can usually rotate around 90 degrees.
2. Learn the Basic Method
Next, move on to the basic step to do the merengue. With the same one, two, three, four, count, start on the left foot (for the leader). Step to the side on count one and close in with the other foot on count twp and so forth, to a left, right; left, right; right, left; right, left pattern. Remember to move your knees to create a bouncing motion as you march step left and right. Hips should be moving too, but the upper body is straight. The follower mimics the leader's movements with opposite footing (start on the right foot).
3. Fancy Chasse Moves
Learn the chasse move to successfully do the merengue with your partner. Chasse to the left and to the right. Count four steps to the left (for the leader) and four steps to the right. Don't forget to pump the knees and move the hips for chasse to do the merengue. March step side one, two, three, four, but on count four, tap instead. Follow the same pattern in the other direction.
4. Cover the Floor
Couples hold both sets of hands waist level and in front of them for a more advanced merengue move. Begin moving forward and back while also turning on the dance floor. Use an eight count for this turn. While still holding hands, begin to march step back on the one, two, three, four counts and then pull back in and march step forward for the five, six, seven, eight counts to do the merengue. As you pull in, turn slightly so that you'll tap opposite shoulders together in the front. At the same time, rotate around the dance floor as a unit to do the merengue.
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