The history of the Cha Cha

In the Islands of the West Indies, there are

certain plants that produce seedpods
known as cha-cha. These are used to make
a small rattle also known as cha-cha. In
Haiti the typical voodoo band consists of
three drums, a bell, and a cha-cha. The
cha-cha is used by the leader as a guide
instrument or "metronome" to set the time
in secular dancing as well as in religious
music and singing. Thus the dance Cha
Cha had its roots in the religious ritual
dances of the West Indies.
Cha Cha is derived from two other dances,
it is a derivative of the Mambo (Mambo is
the name of a voodoo priestess) through
its Latin music and it is also a stepchild
of Swing (Lindy, as it is danced with a
triple step and a break).
In 1953 the Cuban orchestra "America"
started playing the time-honored "Danzon"
with a new syncopated beat. This sounded
like a slow Mambo, and Cuban dancers
used a slight triple hip undulation on the
slow count. Gradually this was changed to
a triple step on the slow count and the Cha
Cha was born. The Cha Cha was
introduced to the United States in 1954,
and by 1959 Americans were "gaga over
Cha Cha", with dance studios reporting it
to be their most popular dance. It is such
an "on the beat" dance that you can't help
inject your own feelings into it. Cha Cha is
still the most popular of the Latin dances
in the United States today.
It has also been suggested that the name
Cha Cha is derived from the vocal imitation
of the sound of the feet in the chasse,
which included in many of the steps. This
would account for it being called the "Cha
Cha Cha" by some people whereas others
call it the "Cha Cha". It is danced "Cha
Cha" with the accent on the "1" beat. The
tempo is fast, sassy and staccato.
Like most Latin dances, it is done with the
feet remaining close to the floor (toe
steps). The dancers hips are relaxed to
allow free movement in the pelvic area as a
result of the bending and straightening of
the knees. The upper body shifts over the
supporting foot as the steps are taken
(foot moves, body follows). This hip action
is called Latin or Cuban motion.
It is very important to understand the
musical timing of Cha Cha to dance it
correctly. If you don't, it will always have a
"frantic feeling" and fast Cha Cha's will be
very difficult to dance. Cha Cha music is
usually played in 4/4 time generally at a
speed of 28 to 31 mpm (measures per
minute). Musically it is counted: 1, 2, 3, 4,
& or an easy way to remember it is: 1,2,3,
Cha, Cha (a Cha is 1/2 beat).
Reprinted with permission of Ron &
Rebecca Kellen & Bogie of the Mile High
Ballroom of Prescott, AZ
The waltz
There are several references to a sliding or
gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century
including the representations of the printer
H.S. Beheim. The French
philosopher Montaigne wrote of a dance he
saw in 1580 in Augsburg, where the dancers
held each other so closely that their faces
touched. Kunz Haas, of approximately the
same period wrote that, "Now they are
dancing the
godless, Weller or Spinner."
[1]
"The vigorous
peasant dancer, following an instinctive
knowledge of the weight of fall, utilizes his
surplus energy to press all his strength into
the proper beat of the measure, thus
intensifying his personal enjoyment in
dancing".
[2]

The peasants of Bavaria, Tyrol, and Styria
began dancing a dance called Walzer, a
dance for couples, around 1750. The Lndler,
also known as the Schleifer, a country dance
in 3/4 time, was popular in Bohemia, Austria,
and Bavaria, and spread from the
countryside to the suburbs of the city. While
the eighteenth century upper classes
continued to dance the minuet, bored
noblemen slipped away to the balls of their
servants.
[3]

In the 1771 German novel Geschichte des
Fruleins von Sternheim by Sophie von La
Roche, a high-minded character complains
about the newly introduced waltz among
aristocrats thus: "But when he put his arm
around her, pressed her to his breast,
cavorted with her in the shameless, indecent
whirling-dance of the Germans and engaged
in a familiarity that broke all the bounds of
good breedingthen my silent misery turned
into burning rage."
[4]

Describing life in Vienna (dated at either 1776
or 1786
[5]
), Don Curzio wrote, " The people
were dancing mad [...] The ladies of Vienna
are particularly celebrated for their grace and
movements of waltzing of which they never
tire." There is a waltz in the second act finale
of the opera "Una Cosa Rara" written
by Martin y Soler in 1786. Soler's waltz was
marked Andante con moto, or "at a walking
pace with motion", but the flow of the dance
was sped-up in Vienna leading to the
Geschwindwalzer, and the Galloppwalzer.
[6][7]

In the transition from country to town, the
hopping of the Lndler, a dance known as
Langaus, became a sliding step, and gliding
rotation replaced stamping rotation.
[8]

In the 19th century the word primarily
indicated that the dance was a turning one;
one would "waltz" in the polka to indicate
rotating rather than going straight forward
without turning.
The Viennese custom is to slightly anticipate
the second beat, which conveys a faster,
lighter rhythm, and also breaks of the
phrase. The younger Strauss would
sometimes break up the one-two-three of the
melody with a one-two pattern in the
accompaniment along with other rhythms,
maintaining the 3/4 time while causing the
dancers to dance a two-step waltz. The
metronome speed for a full bar varies
between 60 and 70, with the waltzes of the
first Strauss often played faster than those of
his sons.
[9]

Shocking many when it was first
introduced,
[10]
the waltz became fashionable
in Vienna around the 1780s, spreading to
many other countries in the years to follow. It
became fashionable in Britain during
the Regency period, having been made
respectable by the endorsement of Dorothea
Lieven, wife of the Russian
ambassador.
[11]
Almack's, the most exclusive
club in London, permitted the waltz from
about 1812 on, though the entry in the
Oxford English Dictionary shows that it was
considered "riotous and indecent" as late as
1825. The waltz, and especially its closed
position, became the example for the
creation of many other ballroom dances.
Subsequently, new types of waltz have
developed, including many folk and several
ballroom dances.