Merengue is danced on every dance floor in North American and in all Latin dance clubs. As well, it is a very popular dance throughout the Caribbean and is considered one of the standard Latin-American dances.

There is a lot of variety in Merengue music with tempos ranging from moderately slow to ridiculously fast. Merengue music is written in 4/4 time (4 beats to a bar of music) calling for four dance steps to a bar of music. In Merengue you move on every beat!

With its short precise steps, merengue is ideally suited to small, crowded dance floors, it is a dance that is easy to learn and fundamentally a "fun" dance. The basic step goes as follows: The Man waits to start with his weight on the right leg. On the first beat, count 1, the man steps to the side onto his left foot and changes weight onto it. On the next beat, count 2, he closes the right foot in with a weight change, returning to the starting position. The women’s steps are the natural opposite starting with her weight on the left and the transfer of weight to the right on count 1. There are three basic movements to the Merengue - the Side Basic Movement, the Forward Basic Movement and the Back Basic Movement.