ABOUT THE CHA-CHA
Originally known as the Cha-Cha-Cha, this dance became popular around 1954. Cha-Cha is an offshoot of the Mambo and has origins in Cuba. In the slow Mambo tempo, there was a distinct sound in the music that people began to dance to, calling the step the "Triple" Mambo. Eventually it evolved into a separate dance, known today as the Cha-Cha. The Dance teacher Pierre Lavelle from the United Kingdom, a founder of the Latin American Faculty of ISTD, visited Cuba in 1952 to research the mambo (some say, rumba) danced with the triple step in place of the slow one. He brought this dance idea to Europe and eventually created what is now known as ballroom Cha-Cha.
CHA-CHA SYLLABUS
Based on the International Style Latin Syllabus
* Closed Basic
* New York to LSP and RSP
* Spot Turn to the Right and Left
* Shoulder to Shoulder
* Underarm Turn to the Right and Left
* Hand to Hand to LSP and RSP
* Three Cha Chas
TECHNIQUE FOCUS POINTS
* Straight Standing Leg
* Frame, Arm Positions, Posture
* Rhythm and Timing
DANCE ORIGIN
* Cuba
* Capital: Havana
* Official Language: Spanish
* Population: 11,239,363 (2009 est.)
* Currency: Peso
* Government: Socialist Republic
* Country Flag
* Map of Cuba
