Cha-Cha Lessons

    Of all the Latin dances, the Cha Cha is the newest. A spin off of the Mambo, Cha Cha made its appearance in the early 1950's in American dance clubs. Enrique Joren, a Cuban musician, who credited with inventing the Cha Cha. He wanted to create music that a wider range of people could dance to than could handle the very fast Mambo , popular at the time. He developed music with a slower, medium rhythm Mambo beat. When slowed down his musical version revealed a 3 count beat that people then began to put steps to.

    The resulting dance, was first called "the triple Mambo", because of the added three quick steps, and later called the Cha Cha Cha. The name was then shortened to Cha Cha and the dance consists of 2 slower steps followed by 3 quick steps.

    Cha Cha rapidly surpassed the quicker Mambo in popularity, giving a wider range of dance enthusiasts the opportunity to move their feet, and their hips, to lively Latin American rhythms. The Cha Cha remains one of the most popular, lively and fun of all ballroom dances, and can be done not only to Latin American beats, but to a wide variety of contemporary music as well.