13. THE MERENGUE

The Merengue is the latest Latin-American dance to invade the United States. It originated in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. It is said to have been created by a sailor who had a lame leg. According to the legend, the sailor was at a public dance one evening, dancing in an unusual manner. Others present were fascinated by the unusual pattern of his footwork and the undulation of his left hip and they began to imitate him. Later they discovered that he danced in this manner because he was lame—some stories say that his right leg was a wooden leg.

They continued to imitate his dance as a tribute to his gameness, and the dance gained in popularity and soon spread over the entire island, whence eventually it was introduced into the United States.

While this may or may not be a legend, it is true that the dance definitely favors the boy's left foot, and its characteristic constant moving of the right foot together to the left foot certainly gives a limping effect to the dance. It has been described as a dance in which you dance the Fox Trot with one leg and the Rhumba with the other.

There is not nearly so much hip movement in the Merengue as it is danced in the United States, compared to the way the dance is executed in the West Indies. However, there should be a constant flexing of the knees and a slight undulation of the left hip taking most of the movement.

The dance does not travel around the floor as does the Fox Trot or Tango. Though it is a One Step, musically speaking, it resembles the Rhumba and the Mambo since the movement is primarily in one spot or around one spot.

The step that comes nearest to approaching a traveling step in a forward direction travels only on the left foot—that is, the boy steps forward with his left, then steps together with his right foot, as he brings his right foot to his left foot. Thus:

BOY'S PART:

Forward—L	Together—R	Forward—L	Together—R
1	2	3	4

GIRL'S PART:

Backward—R	Together—L	Backward—R	Together—L
1	2	3	4

The dance is executed in closed position or a slightly open position.

The boy seldom steps straight backward with his right foot, neither does he step directly to the side with his right foot. These movements are usually combined—thus the boy, when stepping his right foot in a sideward direction, generally steps diagon­ally backward. The diagonal backward step is led by a movement of the right hip which gives the appearance that the leg is moved with great difficulty.

Since the dance is a One Step with no syncopation, it is practically impossible for the partners to get out of step with each other, providing, of course, they follow the tempo of the music. Liberties may be taken in direction of movement and combina­tion of steps, as long as the character of the dance prevails. Side steps to the left by the boy—to the right by the girl—should be accompanied by swaying the shoulders. When a boy steps to the side with his left foot, he should at the same time lower his left shoulder.

MERENGUE—SIDE STEP

Since the Merengue is a one step, the side steps followed by the together steps are all of the same tempo. The true Merengue is never syncopated. Observe in Figure 1 below that as the left foot steps to the side, the left shoulder dips downward to the left side. This is in complete reverse of the shoulder movement which ordinarily accompanies the side step as danced in the American Fox Trot. When the left knee bends, the right knee becomes straight. This contrasting knee movement is charac­teristic of all Merengue steps.

BOY'S PART:

Side—L	Together—R	Side—L	Together—R
1	2	3	4

GIRL'S PART:

Side—R	Together—L	Side—R	Together—L
1	2	3	4

The above figures show a movement   constantly used in the Merengue, that is, a series of In place steps, as shown here they may be used to follow the side step as explained in Figure 1 through 4.

Practice them in series of four:

BOY'S PART:

Forward—L	In place—R	In place—L	In place—R
1	2	3	4

GIRL'S PART:

Backward—R	In place—L	In place—R	In place—L
1	2	3	4

After you have mastered this, combine  the general movements as explained in the two sets of figures, thus:

BOY'S PART:

Side—L	Together—R	Forward—L	In place—R
1	2	3	4
Side—L	Together—R	Forward—L	In place—R
5	6	7	8

GIRL'S PART: Exactly the opposite of the boy's part.

Turns of a pivot nature should be made to the right, the boy's right foot being in between his partner's feet, and remaining in place throughout the turn. Step turns are generally taken to the left, as shown by diagram on the following pages.

An interesting combination of side steps and pivot turn is:

BOY'S PART:

Side—L	Together—R	Side—L	In place—R
			Turn Toe Out
1	2	3	4
Side—L	In place—R	Side—L	In place—R
	Pivot Turn—R		Pivot Turn—R
5	6	7	8

The last half of this step may be executed in closed position. Then, when the step is repeated, the position should be slightly open for the following side steps.

GIRL'S PART

Side—R	Together—L	Side—R	In place—L
1	2	3	4
Side—R	In place—L	Side—R	In place—L
	Pivot Turn—R		Pivot Turn—R
5	6	7	8

This step is about half step turn and half pivot turn. The boy's left foot travels in a circle around his right foot which is fundamentally in place throughout the entire turn. The boy's left foot must travel forward in order to reach a position to the side of the pivoting right foot. To better understand this turn, study the diagram on the following page.

MERENGUE CROSSOVER STEP

This step should be executed in a slightly open position. The partners should face each other throughout the entire step. Notice here that some of the character of the Tango is adopted as the draw-in in Figure 4 does not take a shift of weight.   Boy steps to side with left foot as girl steps to the right side with right foot. The shoulders of both partners should dip slightly downward in the direction of travel. There is an undulation of the boy's left hip and girl's right hip as the foot takes the body weight.   Boy steps Cross Front with right foot as girl does same with left foot. On this step the shoulders move slightly back away from the line of direction. When the foot has the entire body weight, the boy should hold the girl firmly, thus bringing her traveling motion to a stop in preparation for the next movement.   Boy points left toe out to side letting the toe touch the floor. His left knee straight and his right knee slightly bending. Girl does same with her right toe pointed. This pointing of the toe takes absolutely no body weight.   Boy does draw-in with left foot as girl does draw-in with right foot. There is no shift of weight here. The boy's left foot remains free and the girl's right foot remains free. The couple is now ready to do another step or repeat.

MERENGUE CROSS FRONT—CROSS FRONT STEP

This step -requires a little more practice than most of the Merengue Steps because of the intricate foot work. While practicing this try to keep your shoulders in one direction facing your partner, allowing the lower part of your body to twist from the waist down. This step should not be used over and over, but should be used only occasionally interspersed with some of the more simple steps.

BOY'S PART:

Side—L	Cross Front—R	Cross Front—L	Cross Front—R
1	2	3	4

GIRL'S PART:

Side—R	Cross Front—L	Cross Front—R	Cross Front—L
1	2	3	4

The partners should be facing each other in an open position. Steps should be short. The foot with the body weight should pivot slightly to the outside while the cross-front step is in progress.

MERENGUE  SPOT TURN This step resembles the Merengue Rocking Step, the chief difference being that here the dancers turn to the left. Each forward step is followed by an In place step, and each back­ward step is followed by an In place step. The forward steps should move slightly diagonally forward—the backward steps slightly diag­onally backward. Note: The In place step on the boy's right foot and the girl's left foot always turns to the left. Assume that you (the boy) are standing in the middle of the chart at the top: Step   diagonally   forward   with   your   left foot to Figure 2 on the chart. In place-Right turning toe to point toward Figure 2. Diagonally Back-Left to Figure 6.

Note: The In place step on the boy's right foot and the girl's left foot always turns to the left.

BOY'S PART:

Assume you are standing in the middle of the chart at the top.

1. Step   diagonally   forward   with   your   left foot to Figure 2.
2. Your   In place   step   with   the   right   foot should turn and point to Figure 2.
3. Step diagonally back on your left foot to Figure 6.
4. Your right foot steps in place turning to a position  to  where  it  points  about  half-way between Figures 2 and 3.
5. Step diagonally forward to Figure 3 with your left foot.
6. Your right foot steps In place, turning and pointing toward  Figure 3.   (At the count of six you have made a one-quarter turn.)
7. Step to the side with your left foot.
8. Together with your right. (This places you in position shown on bottom diagram and you are ready to repeat these eight counts.)

Continue in this manner until you have made one complete turn which requires thirty-two counts. With a little practice you can do a complete turn in sixteen counts by increasing the angle of your diagonal step forward and your diagonal step back­ward.

THE MERENGUE  (Step and Pivot Turn)

BOY'S PART: Imagine that you are standing in the center of the diagram below. Step your left foot forward to Figure 8—while the step is in progress your right foot pivots In place until it is pointing to Figure 7. Your left foot then moves from Figure 8 to Figure 7 and your right foot does a part-pivot-part-step-In place turn until it is pointing toward Figure 6. In this manner, continue until you have completed your turn and are back to your original starting point.

Remember that after the step is in progress, the left foot moves around the edge of the circle from Figure 8, to Figure 7, to Figure 6 and so on, while the right foot stays in the center of the circle and keeps turning in place and pointing toward the next lower figure.

Picture this as the right foot being the hub of the wheel while the left foot is the rim.

GIRL'S PART:

The girl does the same as the boy—that is, her right foot should be between his feet and she also turns to her right. However, when the boy's weight is on his right foot, the girl's weight must be on her left foot. She pivot turns and step turns in place on her right foot, as the boy follows around the rim of the wheel on his left foot. Then she follows the rim of the wheel on her right foot, while he step turns and pivot turns in place with his left foot. The girl should practice this turn exactly as outlined for the boy.

MERENGUE ROCKING STEP

This step is similar to the Tango Rocking Step, except that there is no Corte, neither is there any syncopation. Each step requires the same amount of time. Note that the right foot of the boy and the left foot of the girl do not travel but always remain In place.

BOY'S PART:

Forward—L	In place—R	Back—L	In place—R
1	2	3	4

GIRL'S PART:

Back—R	In place—L	Forward—R	In place—L
1	2	3	4

This step may be continued to a count of eight, or it may easily be followed by the side step as previously described. Thus:

BOY'S PART:

Forward—L	In place—R	Back—L	In place—R
1	2	3	4
Side—L	Together—R	Side—L	Together—R
5	6	7	8

GIRL'S PART:

Back—R	In place—L	Forward—R	In place—L
1	2	3	4
Side—R	Together—L	Side—R	Together—L
5	6	7	8

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