Cha Cha

    The cha cha, or more familiarly cha cha cha, is also known as triple mambo. The name was derived from the shuffling sound produced by the dancers’ shoes as they move across the floor. It is a ballroom dance considered to be one of the most popular among the social Latin-American dances. Its dynamism towards passion gives the dance the flirtatious look, as well as the energy to sustain the dancers. Vivacious and resplendent, it renders a feeling of lightness and playfulness. It is characterized by a “two-three-four-and-one” rhythm and is danced in 4/4 time, measuring eight counts over two bars. As what has been often practiced, the four beats are chanted as “one-two-cha-cha-cha”. The “cha cha” part consists of a sequence of small gliding steps. Both the ballroom and the Cuban cha cha follow the counting of either “two-three-cha-cha-cha” or “four-and-one-two-three”.
    Cha Cha may be danced to Cuban music with a more voluptuous style. It may also be dance to Latin pop or otherwise Latin rock. When pertaining to chasse, its styles vary in terms of the rhythmical structure. It involves quick, small steps that are kept compact without any trace of rise and fall. It also includes plentiful of hip actions, particularly of Cuban motion wherein the hip’s direction goes up and down.
    Unusually similar to other dances, the cha cha starts not on the first beat. Instead, it begins on the second beat as “count 1”. On the second beat, the lead takes a step forward in checked form with his left foot while retaining partial weight on his right foot (the partner takes a step back with the right foot). Full weight is then returned on his right leg (left leg for the partner) on the third beat. The fourth beat covers the next three steps with respective counting “four-and-one”. This three-step move makes up the cha-cha-cha chasse (the partner does a chasse in a right-left-right manner).
    There emerged two schools of dancing the cha-cha-cha chasse. In one school, knees are permitted to be flexed on count “and-”. This is to disallow the increase in height whenever the feet are brought together. The other school would have the leading foot be placed with the checked knee; the hip movements replaced the bopping.
    Going back, with the right foot half-closed towards the left foot, a step aside is then taken with the latter succeeded by another step to the left with the same. Hip motions are encouraged for further accentuation. This is accomplished over steps taking a single beat. The first half comprises the foot movement; to complete, the hip movement is added on the second half. As the cha cha extends to another bar, each partner executes the previous pattern danced by other partner. Both partners need to be sensitive toward each other so as to maintain parallelism as appropriated in the dance.
    Among its basic figures are giro separándose y encontrándose la pareja (turning of partners as they separate and reunite), paseo (moving forward or backward), rebote (opening to side-closing) and paso lateral (side stepping). Its more advanced figures include amague, vuelta con palmadas (complete turning and clapping of hands) and vuelta complicada (complicated turning).
    The cha cha is one of the five standard dances that constitute the Latin American program of International Ballroom Competition. Aside from having a steady beat, its music for this International Ballroom Competition is one that is full of energy; generally, it is danced to medium tempo Latin music, covering about 110 to 130 beats over a minute.
    The dance first became popular in the 1950s. It’s never easy to build a reputation or keep it, let alone advance from it. The incorporation of the cha cha rhythm into the American music was definitely a boost in helping the dance keep its sophisticated status in the present. Among the great singers and musicians are Dámaso Pérez Prado, Enrique Jorin, Dean Martin, Tom Jobim, Jack Costanzo and Richard Maltby. There were also bands formed such as the America, Cha Cha Boys, Fred Sateriale Band and the Tommy Dorsey Band. Compared to the dance’s popularity back then, there is not a doubt that it still enjoys certain prerogatives that come from achieving a certain height of fame.