How to Do Styled Right & Left Turns in Merengue

Learn how to do styled right and left turns in merengue from professional dancers Ernesto Palma and Crystal Rodriguez in this Howcast dance video.


Ernesto: Your right turn, left turn with a reverse style. After you're more comfortable with your hot, sort of style, turning. This is the only way you can add something like a little bit more flavor to your turns. Depends on the music , and remember you always have to dance to the music while your felling, while you getting at a means of some songs that are really fast. So the style would be minimal, they would be more about speed. Also, if the song is slow, then you have something to work with. Then you can add the hips, and the body, and you can make it as sensual as you want. Remember need to use a counter turnaround, we can cut it down to four, we can cut it down to six beats to get around. Just feel free and relax your body. So this style of Merengue is a lot to be used with your body, the expression that your giving, the communication, having fun, add feeling to this. It's kind of like a way you want to look on the dance floor, most of the times.

Crystal: Yeah, so you can move your head a certain way of the style. His hips he can move this way, forward, back, we can use our head, we can do our hair, we can do a lot of things.

Ernesto: For girls, the hair always get the guys. So, I would say one of the way we can show it to you is... Crystal will actually show us how to do a little more sort of sexy, more relaxed turn instead of being so square from the clock. So just give us a right turn that you like.

Crystal: And we can take our time, make it a little softer a little bit, take our time, take more than 8 beats, and then get back to him.

Ernesto: Make sure the leader or your motor is still running. So, you could in any time, step and let her, you just move your hips, you don't need to do anything else. Keep moving. So, one of the important things about that is we need to stay always on the same foot. Meaning that I'm going from my left, she has to be on her right to make a perfect [swing] to where we come back together. So, this is the key of following and leading, making again the right turn. As a leader you can do it the same thing, you can take to the right, stall you can put it on your shoulder, give her a little more flirt. The style is all about what you can add to the right turn. I can give her the right turn with my right hand, which actually makes it look totally different than if I'm doing it with my left. Add a little more of the hips, or go down as it will give a little twirly levels in your dancing. Don't always dance up here, you're gonna be able to drop whenever you want. So the dropping is a little more sexy, more communication, we're having fun.

Crystal: And followers, you can, you know, play a little bit, you can stay looking at him, you can get down, you can look away, and not pay attention, you can do a lot of things.

Ernesto: So Mary, let's with the music and you'll see a difference... So, now the music is fast so we're gonna stay on the beat though but we can still do all our stops... with my left hand... That could be couple ideas or tips for your right turns and left.

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