Dolores is right, they are very different. Generally speaking, merengue is faster than salsa. The movement is on the hips, salsa's is more on the feet. You can generally learn salsa by learning the basic foot steps. The Dominicans invented merengue, and although salsa is popular, merengue rules!
Like to get into learning how to dance the merengue, could you tell me where to get it learned in Santo Domingo / Dominican Republic? Is there a single daycourse here? Please let me now if there is - and also tell me the costs of it. Gracias! Saskia.
The two forms have influenced each other a great deal in the past couple of decades, but the difference is in the underlying beat pattern. Merengue is structured around a very regular, on-the-beat thump, while salsa is structured around the clave, a syncopated two-bar pattern (3 beats/2 beats or 2 beats/3 beats) that is repeated over and over again as well. Generally speaking that makes the merengue a bit easier to dance, but there's a lot of rhythmic complexity going on in merengue as well beneath this very regular attack.
It is really AMAZING to see the evolution of merengue music! From the simplistic rhythms born in the Dominican countryside to the hip-hoppish influenced bands coming out of NYC. This was done specially well by Fulanito (just thinking about this cd makes want to dance) last year. I have a great book on merengue and the Dominican identity. It is available at Amazon - GREAT book and highly recommend it for those interested.
