What is the difference between salsa and merengue. do dance studios?

Question:

What is the difference between salsa and merengue. do dance studios?

usually teach merengue or just salsa?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Merengue is a dance from Hispanola characterized by basic chassez normally with a step on each beat. Salsa is more difficult to pin down. In most areas, it is taught as a mambo variant, and there's a tendency for the original New York home to much of the dance's populariity to retain the mambo timing, with the break on the 2 beat, where the Mexican/west coast influence shows a tendency to have more bachata-like influence and the break is usually on the 1 beat. The basic patterns normally have a step on 3 of 4 beats, with a quick-quick-slow timing.
Salsa studios may or may not offer merengue, and you have to be careful, as there are a lot of studio owners/teachers who are self-taught. American ballroom studios will generally teach both, and International ballroom studios will likely teach neither.