Learn Cha Cha

Popular From the Beginning

The roots of cha cha lie in the music of Cuban composer and violinist Enrique Jorrin. European dance instructor and choreographer Pierre Margolie heard his music in 1952. Margolie was on a dance treasure hunt of sorts, trying to track down a version of mambo or rumba that had a quick triple step instead of the slow two-beat step.

This triple step became known as the "chasse." As the dance became popular and evolved it became the differentiating factor in every variation of the form. When you learn cha cha, where you put the chasse within the rhythm determines the dance.

All cha cha tends is done to a 4/4 time beat, though some of the music will have specific triplets in them to accompany the shuffling step of the dance. This rhythm, called the guajira, is very traditional. When it is danced in clubs (usually by Cuban expatriates), it is a very conventional and specific form of dance.

1. Ballroom Cha cha – This variant puts the "cha cha cha" beat after the "two-three" beats, so that the count goes "cha-2-3-cha cha cha" with the last cha carrying over into the next measure. This can lead to complications when starting the dance.
2. Cuban Street Cha Cha – Similar to Ballroom in rhythm, this one is only danced to the guajira rhythm.
3. Country Western – As the dance came to the U.S., the beat was moved to either the beginning or end of the four-count phrase ("1-2-cha cha cha" or "cha cha cha-3-4") and not carried over to the next phrase of music. In addition, this dance would be performed to any song with a 4/4 beat, though there were several in many genres that had "cha cha" in their name.

Basic Steps to Learn Cha Cha

It's very easy to learn cha cha – the how of it, anyway. The complication lies in the "when" of performing the step. Some ballroom dance methods actually have the dancers start on the third "cha" step just so that everything else will fall into place starting on the "one" count.

Regardless of how you start it, the way to do the full cha cha step is the same for both lead and follow. The dancers can have their arms in closed (classic dance frame), extended (holding hands, arms loose), or open (no physical contact at all).

Both the lead and the follow learn cha cha the same way, just at different times. A full "basic" step would go as follows:

1. Step back with the right foot, letting the knee flex slightly as some weight comes down on it. This is similar to the dance move known as the "ball change."
2. Rock back onto the left, bring the right foot forward, and step directly to the right (the first "cha")
3. Bring the left sideways to meet the right as if it were chasing the other foot, hence the name "chasse."
4. Step sideways with the right foot again. This is the third "cha." All of these sideways steps are very small and in some variants the foot never leaves the floor. In others they do, but the knees flex so that there is no up and down motion of the body.
5. Rock forward with the same motion as the first step, but lead with the left foot

That constitutes one full basic step. The follow would be doing the steps in reverse, and then both dancers would switch. This happens over and over, until the lead signals a variation such as a chase or a train.

All of these moves, as well as the proper place to begin the dance for the style you are dancing, are best learned in a dance studio by experienced instructors. Anyone who wants to learn cha cha should start there, and soon they'll be chasse-ing all over town.