The Cha Cha Cha dance or simply the Cha Cha as it is known by in ballroom dancing is a highly popular Latin American dance of Cuban origin that is danced to the Cha Cha Cha music introduced by Cuban composer Enrique Jorrin.
UK dance teacher Pierre Lavelle visited Cuba and discovered the mambo danced with the triple step in place of the slow one. This dance idea was brought to Europe and eventually created what is now known as the ballroom Cha-Cha.
There are three distinct styles of the Cha Cha only differing by the place of the chachacha chasse with respect to the musical bar. The ballroom and street versions of the Cha-Cha in Cuba count “two-three-chachacha” while the country/western and Latin street Cha-Cha in many places other than in Cuba count “one-two-chachacha” or “chachacha-three-four”.
The Cha Cha is usually danced to either authentic Latin music, or to the more contemporary Latin Pop or Latin Rock styles of music. The ballroom Cha-Cha music is very energetic with a steady beat. The latin Cha-Cha is slower and more sensual and involves many more complicated rhythms. The country western or cowboy version of the Cha-Cha can be danced to any “four to the floor” music; in addition there are numerous other country western novelty dances with names that include “cha-cha-cha”.
To properly visualize what the Cha-Cha dance looks like here are International Ballroom Cha-Cha dancers Bryan Watson & Carmen Vincelj.
