Brief History

Cha-Cha has the distinction of being one of the most dominant "pop" rhythms of the late
40s to 50s and is characterized as having an upbeat, infectious rhythm, which creates a
sense of playfulness and flirtation.

In the 1940s, many dances rose to popularity as American and Cuban musicians jammed
together in Havana, Cuba. That creates new dances, including the mambo, of which the
cha-cha derived.

The Mambo music consists of a complex interconnection of different rhythms. The word
Mambo was not originally a term for a dance, but simply an Afro-Cuban name for
polymetry or polyrhythm.

The music of Cha-Cha was introduced by Cuban composer and violinist Enrique Jorrn
in 1953.

The ballroom style of dancing the cha-cha-cha comes from studies made by dance
teacher Monsieur Pierre (Pierre Zurcher-Margolle). He visited Cuba in 1952 to find
out how and what Cubans were dancing at the time. He brought this dance idea to
England and eventually created what is now known as ballroom cha-cha-cha.

Time signature: 4/4 time

Counting: 2 3 4 & 1

Basic step:

A shifting of weight back and forth from one foot to the other,
Rock step
in place. May be either forward or backward.
A series of three consecutive steps, usually syncopated within
Triple step
two beats of music.

Dancing with the Stars is an American dance competition show airing since 2005 on
ABC in the United States and at the same year the Shall we Dance? is a counterpart
Ballroom dancing TV series in the Philippines that aired in TV5. Hosted by Lucy Torres-
Gomez.

In social dancing, sociability and socializing are the primary focuses of the dancing.
Social dancers focus on learning ballroom dancing steps without a heavy emphasis on
technique. Dancesport or Competitive dancing is the competition aspect of ballroom
dancing. Dancesport dancers train and compete in the sport of ballroom dancing,
therefore recognizing dancesport as a sports activity based on a set of rules and
techniques.