Dance Lessons with Robert
The Chase Dance
In the late 1940s, Havana, Cuba, was one of the most popular resorts for North Americans, especially those residing along the east coast. The most famous American dance bands as well as the many outstanding Latin bands native to Cuba played at the city's casinos. Some of these orchestras tried combining the American JAZZ beat with the Cuban RUMBA rhythm. From this music a dance was developed to the mambo rhythm, danced to the off beat rather than the traditional downbeat.
the Cha Cha
Among the many figures was one called the "chatch", which involved three quick changes of weight preceded by two slow steps. By the early 1950s, this figure had developed into a new dance comprised of many simple variations on the basic footwork. The dance acquired the name CHA-CHA ; its characteristic three-step change of weight carried the identifying verbal definition, "cha-cha-cha".
The "Cha Cha" is danced currently at about 120 beats per minute. The steps are taken on the beats, with a strong hip movement as the knee straightens on the half beats in between. The weight is kept well forward, with forward steps taken toe-flat, and with minimal torso movement. The chase on 4&1 is used to emphasize the step on beat 1, which may be held a moment longer than the other steps to match the emphasis of the beat in the music.
A Little Cha Cha History
The cha-cha-cha, or simply cha cha, is the name of a dance of Cuban origin.
It is danced to the music of the same name introduced by Cuban composer and violinist Enrique Jorrin in 1953. This rhythm was developed from the Danzón by a syncopation of the fourth beat. The name is onomatopoeic, derived from the rhythm of the güiro
(scraper) and the shuffling of the dancers' feet.
The modern style of dancing the cha-chá comes from studies made by dance teacher Pierre Zurcher-Margolle, who partnered Doris Lavelle.
Pierre, then from London, visited Cuba in 1952 to find out how and what Cubans were dancing at the time. He noted that this new dance had a split fourth beat, and to dance it one started on the second beat, not the first. He brought this dance idea to England and eventually created what is now known as Ballroom cha-cha-cha.
The validity of his analysis is well established for that time, and some forms of evidence exist today. First, there is in existence film of Orquesta Jorrin playing to a cha-cha-cha dance contest in Cuba; second, the rhythm of the Benny More classic Santa Isabel de las Lajas written and recorded at about the same time is quite clearly syncopated on the fourth beat. Also, note that the slower bolero-son ("rumba") was always danced on the second beat.
