Cha Cha

Turning Side Basic Step

In the early 1950s, Enrique Jorrín worked as a violinist and composer with the charanga group Orquesta América. The group performed at dance halls in Havana where they played danzón, danzonete, and danzon-mambo for dance-orientated crowds. Jorrín noticed that many of the dancers at these gigs had difficulty with the syncopated rhythms of the danzón-mambo. To make his music more appealing to dancers, Jorrín began composing songs where the melody was marked strongly on the first downbeat and the rhythm was less syncopated. When Orquesta América performed these new compositions at the Silver Star Club in Havana, it was noticed that the dancers had improvised a triple step in their footwork producing the sound "cha-cha-cha". Thus, the new style came to be known as "cha-cha-chá" and became associated with a dance where dancers perform a triple step

Hockey Stick

The following is the current bronze syllabus recommended by the National Dance Council for American Bronze Cha-Cha.

This will be the only style taught even though you may have been taught differently. As noted below there is a significant amount of confusion on the "Count" so we will adhere to the recommended count as shown in the following link.

Besame Mama3:26
The Vertical Expression (Of Horizontal Desire)3:38
Bailamos3:34
Sex on the Beach (Original Mix)3:52

Cha-cha-chá is danced to authentic Cuban music, although in ballroom competitions it is often danced to Latin Pop or Latin Rock. The music for the international ballroom cha-cha-chá is energetic and with a steady beat.

Styles of cha-cha-chá dance may differ in the place of the chasse in the rhythmical structure. The original Cuban and the ballroom cha-cha count is "two, three, chachacha", "four-and-one, two, three" or "one, two, three, chacha". The dance does not start on the first beat of a bar, though it can start with a transfer of weight to the lead's right.

Nevertheless, many social dancers count "one, two, cha-cha-cha" and may find it difficult to make the adjustment to the correct timing of the dance, "two, three, cha-cha, one".