Merengue, so easy anyone can do it. Part 1

     There is something to be said for the ease and simplicity of the Merengue. If you can walk, this dance is for you. The only challenge that the Merengue presents is the need to follow a beat.

     To dance the Merengue, the couple must have a close body contact hold. The man's hand on the lady's lower back, the lady's left hand on his upper arm and holding his free hand. This close contact will produce a swaying motion in the hips, which is classic with most Latin dances. 

     However, if you're not comfortable with a close body hold, then a good substitution for this is a double hand hold. Basically the couple just holds hands facing each other. This dance hold requires a bit more concentration on keeping the upper body still and all the movement in the hips and leg area. If you don't get that at first, don't worry, it will happen with practice. 

     The Merengue music generally has a 4/4 beat but can be faster. However, no matter the speed, Merengue steps happen on the beat. Some good Merengue songs would be "Suavemente" by Elvis Crespo, "I know you want me" by Pitbull, "La Vaca" by Tony Vega, "Satisfaction" by Benni Benassi and almost anything done by Andy Andy, just to start with. 

      This basic can start anywhere on the dance floor and in any direction. Because of the small step area required this is a great dance for crowded nightclubs. Now, to begin with, a complete Merengue basic has a total of 8 steps. 

     Starting with the man's weight on the right foot, lady's weight on the left, step in place. It's important to remember to shift weight each step. This produces the sway motion mentioned earlier. Each weight shift counts as a step. After eight steps, you have completed one basic. Completing multiple basics in a row is an ideal goal for the Merengue. 

     Should the idea of weight shifting seem confusing, think of it as trying to squish a bug with your entire weight every time you take a step.  

     Once you feel comfortable with the basic, you can start to add turns and improvise.  

     

The search begins

So, it's a weeknight and you don't have to work or hang with friends and you want to go out dancing, but where do you start?
A good place to begin would be a quick Google search for dance events in your local town or nearby city.  Depending on those results you can narrow down your search to more relevant venues. Also check to see if local dance clubs have a website with a calendar of events, sometimes they have dance lessons with parties during the week. These type of events are good because they allow you to learn right along with other people and you aren't excluded because of a better dancer.
Next, check your local chat and forum websites like Facebook.com, meetup.com or even craigslist.org. Also spread the word that you're interested, word of mouth can clue you into more group lessons or parties that aren't advertised.
Be careful about your choice. There are places that keep a cover charge for the facility and have a nice dance area with drink specials (if you're over 21 that is). Other venues are free, but don't have a great dance floor, no specials and could be in a restaurant after it closes.
Try to get all the information you can before you go to make it a positive experience.

Fun and Flirty or Romantically Passionate?

Recently I had a question posed to me about the nature of dances having a "mood" associated with them. While this is true of some dances, there are others that were created just for the fun of it.
The group that I consider "fun and flirty" contains dances like Cha Cha, Swing, Salsa, Merengue, Jive, Mambo and Samba. The more passionate of the dances consist of Tango, Rumba, Waltz, Foxtrot and Paso Doble.
Of course each dance can be broke down into more titled names, for example: Rumba is the dance of love and Tango is the dance of passion. I see Foxtrot, Waltz and Paso Doble as dances that would resemble a more long term relationship or even courtship.
After I defined the dances, yet another question was posed to me about what types of dances were appropriate for taking someone on a date.
This was a little trickier to answer because it generally depends on the personality of each person as to which dance they enjoy. Latin dances are always recommended by myself because they are more fun and have easier steps to learn. The Merengue is the easiest dance in the world to learn and a ton of fun and Salsa isn't too far behind. However, if the date is a little more shy, perhaps more of a ballroom setting with Waltz and Foxtrot would be more appropriate.
Overall, each dance has something different to offer and present to each person. The more free you are with your body and mind the better some dances will appear while a more formal ballroom type dance requires more form and meticulous movement that some people just cannot escape from.
Should you be trying to figure out what dance is more "you", try this. Experiment with different types of music in your spare time. Create a mix or playlist on your ipod, computer or other media player and run through it song by song. Which one are you more inclined to tap your foot to or feel inspired to sway with? More often than not, the dances that you are inclined to move to are ones that you would enjoy dancing to.