The cha-cha-cha (also called cha-cha), is a dance of Cuban origin.[1][2] It is danced to the music of the same name introduced by the Cuban composer and violinist Enrique Jorrin in the early 1950s. This rhythm was developed from the danzón-mambo. The name of the dance is an onomatopoeia derived from the shuffling sound of the dancers' feet when they dance two consecutive quick steps (correctly, on the fourth count of each measure) that characterize the dance.[3]
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-oriented 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.[4] 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.[5]
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In 1953, Orquesta América released two of Jorrin's compositions, "La Engañadora" and "Silver Star", on the Cuban record label Panart. These were the first cha-cha-cha compositions ever recorded. They immediately became hits in Havana, and other Cuban charanga orchestras quickly imitated this new style. Soon, there was a cha-cha-cha craze in Havana's dance halls, popularizing both the music and the associated dance. This craze soon spread to Mexico City, and by 1955 the music and dance of the cha-cha-cha had become popular in Latin America, the United States, and Western Europe, following in the footsteps of the mambo, which had been a worldwide craze a few years earlier.[8]
The partner takes a step back on the right foot, the knee being straightened as full weight is taken. The other leg is allowed to remain straight. It is possible it will shoot slightly but no deliberate flexing of the free leg is attempted. This is quite different from technique associated with salsa, for instance. On the next beat (beat three) weight is returned to the left leg. Then a chasse is danced RLR.
Standard & Smooth Dances are often thought of and referred to as Ballroom Dances. Foxtrot, Slow Waltz, Viennese Waltz, and Tango are found in both disciplines. Quickstep, long considered to be a Standard Dance, has recently enjoyed a Smooth makeover with the prevalence of shows such as Dancing with the Stars. The most notable difference between American Smooth and International Standard is that in Smooth you will see the partners release dance hold to perform a variety of underarm turns, and side-by-side or shadow figures. When dancing Standard, the dance hold is maintained throughout the entirety of the dance. While American Smooth is flashier and generally speaking, more interesting to watch, International Standard retains a level of elegance that is unrivaled in the dance world.
Waltz is the traditional Wedding Dance. The character is graceful with a swooping rise and fall. The timing is ONE - two - three with the "one" being the downbeat. The basic Waltz step is the box step, a sequence of six steps which, if you were to draw a line connecting all six, would form a box. Waltz is one of the first styles most dancers learn. Examples of Waltz music include You Light Up My Life(Whitney Houston), A Time For Us(Andy Williams), Come Away With Me(Norah Jones), Suddenly(Tony Bennett).
Bolero was originally a Spanish dance in 3/4 time. It later changed in Cuba into 2/4 time, then eventually into 4/4. It is now danced as a very slow type of Rumba rhythm. This is a left turning dance based on a "slip pivot" (a slip pivot is a rotation of the body on the ball of the supporting foot creating a pivot either forward or backward). Bolero has body rise only (no foot rise). This coupled with the slip pivot and slow dreamy music gives Bolero a very slow, smooth, powerful, romantic look and feeling. The foot patterns are similar to Rumba but have a very different feeling. An example of Bolero music is Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On."
This dance follows along the same lines as Two-Step, as you can use many of the same dance patterns. This dance though has a triple step instead of the slow, slow count. It"s a great alternative for live band music where dancing a Two-Step would be too slow.
West Coast Swing is popular on the West Coast of the United States, as its name implies. During our last 20 trips to New York City, where we receive our coaching, we have seen West Coast Swing growing in popularity there. West Coast Swing is a "slot dance" in which the partnership and figures revolve almost magnetically over a one-dimensional line on the floor. This "dancing in a slot" approach derives from San Diego dancehalls as far back as 1938. 50's rhythm and blues music is readily-identifiable West Coast Swing music. West Coast Swing is extremely different from Single Swing, Lindy, and other 'big-band'-type swing styles. We host West Coast Swing Dances every Sunday night at The Ballroom Dance Company, as well as the 3rd Friday of every month. Examples of West Coast Swing music include Stray Cat Strut(Stray Cats), California Girls(David Lee Roth), Morning Train(Sheena Easton).
Yet the most amazing part of learning Spanish is being able to enjoy such a great collection of foreign media, like songs, movies, and even dances! You can enjoy dancing just by the rhythm, but when you understand the lyrics and the stories, it is a whole other level! So prepare your trip to Costa Rica and sign up for a free 1-to-1 class with a certified, native Spanish-speaking teacher at Homeschool Spanish Academy. Check out our programs and take a peek at our affordable prices and begin this new adventure with us!
All over the world, early tribal and folk dances were preserved and clung to by people who were oppressed, relocated or disenfranchised. This is particularly significant in South and North America, where slaves, stripped of everything, and randomly mixed together from different tribal origins, having no common languages, used percussion and song and dance as a way to bond, relate, and maintain and reform communities and social groups. Slave owners typically banned drums and other attempts to create music. Slaves were largely treated far worse than animals. Think about it.. Through generations, millions of African people were forced to work and live in the most desperate living conditions imaginable, having only their voices for singing, and their bodies for dancing, and it is from these roots that much 'Western' and 'Latin' dancing grew, becoming absorbed and adopted into new national cultures and identities as slavery declined and ceased, and the new countries of the Americas were formed. And all the time, these developments were imported back to Europe, often adapted, and then spread further, including back to where they'd been first found.
However the significance of dance and dancing is not widely and fully appreciated. Millions of people simply do not dance - just as millions of people do not eat fresh fruit or vegetables, or walk, or smile, or love or truly seek to be happy.
ball, masquerade, 'the dansant', tea dance, ceilidh (Irish pronounced 'kay-lee'), square dance, hoe-down' hop, jam session, disco, ballet, old time dance, folk dancing; country dance, Scottish dance, sequence dancing, ballroom dancing, Terpsichore, war dance, sword dance, corroboree, shuffle, soft-shoe, cake-walk, pas seul, clog dance, step dance, tap dance, fan dance, toe dance, dance of the seven veils, hula-hula, high kicks, cancan, belly dance, gipsy dance, flamenco, morris dance, barn dance, hay, hornpipe, keel row, polonaise, mazurka, fling, Highland fling, reel, Strathspey, Gay Gordons, strip the willow, Dashing White Sergeant, tarantella, bolero, fandango, cotillion, galliard, ecossaise, gavotte, quadrille, minuet, pavane, saraband, schottische, polka, waltz, valeta, lancers, foxtrot, quickstep, Charleston, black bottom, two-step, pasa-doble, tango. rumba, samba, mambo, bossa nova, habanero, beguine, conga, cha-cha, hokey-cokey, Palais Glide, stomp, shimmy, jive, rock'n'roll, twist, Paul Jones, snowball, corps de ballet, jitterbug, choreography, modern dance, solo, pas de deux, chasse, glissade, arabesque, fouette, plie, pirouette, rotation, entrechat, jete...
The process of learning a specific dance routine is both an artistic endeavour as it is a memory exercise. It therefore involves mental and physical discipline: structure, agility, strength and flexibility, particularly when we dance with others.
In an age of incredible technology and gadgetry, online social networking, fast-food, fast pressurised lifestyles, fashion, celebrity culture, materialism and artificial constructs, dancing offers some of the simplest easiest ways to feel good - that money simply cannot buy. 2ff7e9595c
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