Kompa music originated on the island of Haiti, first created by a musician named Nemours Jean-Baptiste in the mid-1950s. It is a derivative of Meringue, which also originated in Haiti in the 1800s. The original name was Kompa Direk (Direct); also spelled as Compa, it means beat in Spanish, which made the name stand for "Direct Beat". The beat and gaining rhythm is something you need when dancing to Kompa music, much of the dancing comes from the hips and feeling the musical sound on the inside.