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MerengueBy AngieThe Merengue is Dominican Republic’s national dance, and also to a certain extent, of Haiti, the neighbor sharing the island. There are two popular versions of how the Dominican national dance, the Merengue, came about. One version says that the dance originated from the slaves who were chained together and, out of necessity, were forced to drag one leg as they cut sugar to the rhythm of drums. The second version tells of a great hero who was wounded in the leg during one of the many revolutions in the Dominican Republic. A group of villagers wanted to welcomed him home to a victory celebration and, out of commiseration, everyone dancing felt the need to limp and drag one foot as well. Merengue has existed since the early years of the Dominican Republic (in Haiti, a similar dance is called the Meringue). It could be probable that the dance got its name from the confection made of sugar and egg whites due to the light and frothy character of the dance or perhaps because of its short and precise beats. Ever since mid nineteenth century, Merengue is very vogue in the Dominican Republic. Not only is it performed on every dancing occasion in the Republic, it is very well-known throughout the Caribbean and South American, and is one of the favorite Latin American dances. There are many varieties in Merengue music. Tempos vary a great deal and the Dominicans love a sharp quickening in pace towards the second part of the dance. The most preferred routine in the clubs and restaurants that run a dance floor is a slow Bolero, breaking into a Merengue, which becomes similar to a bright, fast Jive towards its closing stages. While the ballroom Merengue is slower and has a modified hip action. The Merengue was introduced in the United States around the New York area. However, it did not become well known until a few years later. Perfectly suited to the small and crowded dance floors, it is a dance that is easy to learn and most importantly an "enjoyable" dance. According to the Dominicans themselves, the Merengue originated from a program shown on TV "SANTO DOMINGO INVITA". It is a mixture of two different dances, the African and the French Minuet, from the late 1700's - early 1800's. The black slaves were exposed to the ballroom dances in the Big Houses and when they had their own festivities started copying their "masters' dances". However the European dances were not very exciting, they were rather boring and serious, thus as time passes, the slaves introduced a unique upbeat (which can be taken from the drums), hence there was a slight skip or a hop. The original Merengue was not danced by individual couples, but was dance in a circle; each man and woman faced each other and holding hands - at arm's length. They did not hold each other closely and the original movements of this dance were only the shaking of the shoulders and swift movement of the feet. There was no glaring movement of the hips like how it is today, because native African dances do not move the hips. In fact, African dances, as well as other Indigenous dances all over the world, involves complicated steps and arm movements. Tribal dancing does not have "primitive" sexual shaking of the hips, this is only done in Hollywood movies. |
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