The Merengue is the national dance of the Dominican Republic, and also to some extent, of Haiti, the neighbor sharing the island.

Ideally suited to the small, crowded dance floors, it is a dance that is easy to learn and essentially a "fun" dance. There are no steps to learn but just transfering the wight of the body from foot to foot to the rhythm of the music, and moving the hips will result in dancing the Merengue.

Merengue has existed since the early years of the Dominican Republic (in Haiti, a similar dance is called the Meringue). It is possible the dance took its name from the confection made of sugar and egg whites because of the light and frothy character of the dance or because of its short, precise rhythms.