The music used for the merengue is festive and upbeat. The tempo is usually 120 to 160 beats per minute, and there is a distinct downbeat at the beginning of each of the four count measures. This, in combination with the repetitive step pattern, makes the dance suitable for groups that perform in unison. A popular social dance using synchronized dance patterns is the line dance. Therefore, the merengue could be converted into a line dance very easily.
The choreography for a line dance uses the side steps and forward and back steps to create a box pattern performed by individuals in a line on the dance floor: eight side steps to the left, eight side steps to the right, eight steps forward and eight steps back. Add more character to the steps by alternating shoulders on the steps forward and back. Add hip action by alternately bending and straightening the knees as you take each step while using ball-flat footwork. Step on the inside edge of the ball of the foot as you take a step and then flatten the foot as you shift your weight to that foot. This creates a hip movement called Cuban motion.
The merengue is a folk dance and the Dominican Republic's national dance. The dance originated with the African slave population of the late 1700s and early 1800s as a combination of African dance and the French minuet. In the minuet, the man and woman stood in a line facing one another and then performed turns in a circle around the floor holding hands at arm's length. The slaves copied this style of dance but added the African drums and more upbeat music. Therefore, the dance could be done in the style of the Virginia reel or the stroll popular in the 1950s.
Couples can line up facing each other and dance the side step to the left and right as the first couple at the end of the line comes into the middle and dances together. As they dance down the line, the lead can initiate any of the traditional figures done in the partner dance hold--pretzel, wrap, rope or tunnel and then step into the head of the line. Each couple follows accordingly, taking their turn in the middle, until the end of the song. It is interesting to note that the origin of this dance was very similar to the Southern Cake Walk created in the 1850s and popularized in the minstrel shows of the late 1800s and early 1900s in the United States (see Resources).
In Latin clubs, the merengue is danced in a closed position and uses Cuban motion to give the dance the stylized character of other Latin dances such as the cha cha, rumba, or bolero. There is a lot of variety in the tempo of merengue music. Dominicans enjoy music that starts at a slower pace, steadily getting faster toward the end of the music. Therefore, a classic club dance routine is to start the dance with a more sensual dance move, moving into the classic merengue dance pattern in the middle of the dance followed by a wildly fast, jive movement at the end of the dance.
The routine begins with a romantic feel with the bolero, enhanced by the Cuban hip motion, increasing in excitement and intensity as the tempo increases. As the tempo increases, the dancers switch to the four-count step pattern of the ballroom merengue with a modified Cuban motion. The wildly fast jive beat at the end gives the dance the character of its African roots. Bouncy jive steps and shoulder shakes replace the more sensual hip action of the Cuban motion.