How to Do an Underarm Turn When Dancing the Merengue

The merengue is a popular Latin dance from the Dominican Republic. It is a worthy starting place for those new to Latin dancing. The woman faces her partner with arms locked into position. The merengue follows a four count set to the rhythm of the music. The underarm turn brings another element of style to the merengue. Master the basic dance pattern and you are ready for the underarm turn.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Play the music. There is a variety of Latin music available for the merengue. The tempo of the music selected determines the speed of your underarm turn. Latin music tends to have a rapid speed. The faster the music, the faster the underarm turn is executed.

2. Stand in the basic hold position facing each other. The man has his right hand on the women's hip and his left hand holds her right hand. He begins with his left foot. She has her left hand on his shoulder and begins with the right foot. They keep their bodies in a locked, upright position. Proceed with the basic two step dance pattern for the merengue following the beat of the music.

3. Begin the underarm turn with the women raising her right hand and man raising his left, allowing space for the turn between them and through their locked arms. Their hands are held firmly so that they may kept together. When dancing any step of the merengue, the couple never completely releases their hands.

4. Move clockwise. The woman rotates under the raised arms toward the man. She takes small steps keeping with the rhythm of the music. He keeps dancing the merengue in place while creating the framework for her turn.

5. Rotate until a full circle is made and she is facing her partner once again.

6. Repeat Step 4 to add more turns, or simply drop your arms back down to the basic hold position to complete the turn. Performing an underarm dance turn several times or just a single turn is usually determined by the dancers' ability and the tempo of the music.