How to Count Merengue: A Step on Every Beat, in 8s

You count merengue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8, with a step on every beat. The eight falls into two groups of four, so it sounds like 1 2 3 4, 5 6 7 8. There is no "and" and no held beat: it is a march. You can see the same pattern in the merengue pattern in the count library, written as eight beats grouped 4 + 4.

That is the whole count. The rest is about making it feel like merengue: where the hips come from, how the music's 2/4 sits under your 8, and what to do when the song changes section.

Short answer

Say it out loud: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8. Step on each number, small and even, and let your weight settle onto each foot as you go. Count the first four as one group and the second four as another, then start again at 1.

If you already count other Latin dances, notice what is missing. Merengue has no gap and no pause: every beat gets a step, so the count is as plain as 1 to 8 gets.

Step by step

March on every beat

Start with no partner and no hips. Just walk on the spot, one step per beat, in time with the music: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8. Keep the steps small. According to Wikipedia's entry on the dance, the basic step is a "danced walk", and the rhythm often accents either the right or the left step. Pick one side to lean on and notice that the accent returns every two beats.

Let the knees move the hips

Now add the hip action. Bend your knees slightly, left and then right, and let that movement carry your hips from side to side. The hips don't swing on their own. They answer the knees. The same source notes that in a closed hold the leader and follower move their hips in the same direction throughout the song, so you move together instead of mirroring each other.

Keep the upper body steady. Even when the music is frantic, the chest stays quiet and the work happens below the waist.

Turns take four steps

When you add a turn, the count helps you size it. A complete turn typically takes four steps, so one full turn fits inside one group of four: 1 2 3 4. Two turns fill the whole 8-count. Turns are slow, so keep them small and don't rush round.

Hold and direction

In the usual closed position the leader's right hand is on the follower's waist and the leader's left hand holds the follower's right hand at eye level. From there you can walk sideways, circle each other in small steps, or open out and dance apart. The count never changes. Whatever the figure, you're still stepping on 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8.

Find the 1 in the music

Merengue music is usually described as a fast 2/4, according to Wikipedia's page on merengue music. You will also see 4/4 in some dance references. Both describe the same steady beat. What matters for you is the arithmetic: a bar of 2/4 has two beats, so four bars make eight, and that is exactly one 8-count. Count the bars in fours and you land back on 1 every time.

To find the 1 in a song, listen for the pattern that repeats. In the traditional ensemble that pattern comes from the two-headed tambora drum and the güira, a metal scraper that keeps a steady brush on the beat, with the accordion on top. Tap along until you can say which beat the phrase starts on, then count 1 to 8 from there. The guide on how to find the 1 in the music walks through this for any song.

Songs commonly have two parts. The first is rhythmically straightforward. The second is busier, with more complex rhythms and short syncopated riffs called jaleos played by the saxophone and accordion to push the dancers on. The drums and horns change, but your count does not. Keep marching 1 to 8 and let the new section ride on top of it.

Common problems

Rushing. Merengue is fast, and fast music tempts you into big, hurried steps. Make them smaller, not quicker. The beat is already doing the speeding up.

Stiff hips. If the hips look locked, the knees are probably straight. Soften both knees first, then add the sideways bend.

Losing the 1 when the section changes. The second half of a song can sound like a different piece. Go back to the pulse, tap it, and find where a bar of four starts again.

Mixing it up with bachata. Both are danced in eights, but the footwork differs: merengue steps on every beat. If you cannot tell which you are hearing, read how to count bachata and compare the two side by side.

Practise it with Count Studio

Start without music. Say the count out loud for a minute, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8, and walk it on the spot. Then add music at a tempo you can manage and only raise it once the steps feel easy. Drill the knee bend alone for a minute before you add a partner.

Count Studio counts merengue as eight beats grouped 4 + 4, with a step on every beat, and it gives you a 5 6 7 8 lead-in before the 1. Its merengue pattern runs from 120 to 170 BPM, so you can set a slower speed while the steps are new and move up as you get comfortable. Count Studio is coming November 27 to iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.

Bottom line

Merengue is the simplest count in Latin dance: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8, a step on every beat, in two groups of four. The hips come from the knees, the turns take four steps, and the music's 2/4 fits four bars to every 8-count. Find the 1, march small, and keep going when the song changes section.