Cha Cha Cha dancing was first introduced to the UK, from Cuba in 1952 & developed in the 1960s by top competitors of the time. In the same way Salsa music was introduced to the UK in 1984 - about 4 years before the dance. The video clip below shows this original style performed by professional dancers in Havana, Cuba.The International style (modern ballroom) technique of Cha Cha Cha, like other ballroom dances, is a result of gradual evolution, and in many respects the technique differs significantly from the earlier days. I.e. correct International style technique is with the knees kept straight rather than bent. The stance & hold is also different. Also, the International Style diverged from the technique of the American Style Cha Cha Cha as can be seen in the video clips below.

Cha Cha Cha music evolved from a change in the older style of music - Son where the musicians added syncopation immediately before beat one. Son is also considered to be the main origin of Mambo & Salsa.

There were no Salsa clubs until the 1970's. Until then there were Mambo clubs. People needed a break from Mambo which is relatively fast dance, so Cha Cha Cha was danced in these clubs alongside the Mambo. Eddy Torres said that, in the New York Palladium era, they would normally play 2 or 3 Mambos, then a Cha Cha Cha, then a few more Mambos & another Cha Cha Cha, and an occasional Merengue too.

Even the best Cuban salsa dancers widely acknowledge that if you want to see good cha cha cha performance, watch a ballroom dancer. This is why BestSalsa are showing what we consider to be the best first. The video clip below shows a stunning International style cha cha cha routine by the present professional World Latin Dance Champions Michael Malitowski & Joanna Leunis.

The video clip below shows another awesome International style cha cha cha routine by Donnie Burns & Gaynor Fairweather. This couple were 14-time World Professional Latin champions: this is by some way the record for this title. They were also eleven times International Latin American Dance Champions, and this is also a record.

Here is an equally brilliant video clip showing an International style cha cha cha routine by Bryan Watson & Carmen Vincelj.

About Cha Cha Cha

New dances are created when a new genre of music is produced. The principle is that there is an ideal dance style to suit a particular type of music. Occasionally there may be more than one type of dance to suit a particular genre of music, so it is not that unusual for salsa dancers to dance salsa when Cha Cha Cha music is played, but is not the best suited dance. Similarly Modern Jivers would probably dance Modern Jive to almost any type of music including Salsa & Cha Cha Cha.

Both Son & Cha Cha Cha dance timing was always with the break “on 2”. Thus the “chasse” could correspond to the rhythm of the Conga Drum and the triple step would be danced on beats 4, and 1. The Conga drum is also widely acknowledged as the main instrument of Cha Cha Cha as well as Salsa. As people become more aware of the rhythms of instruments used in any music, their dancing improves. Good dancing is the visual accompaniment of music. Percussion instruments (drums, cowbell, triangle etc.) determine the rhythm of the tune. A good dancer concentrates on this rhythm rather than the melody of a tune to correctly interpret how to dance to a particular tune.

There seems to be some confusion over the timing of cha cha cha so the following is designed to clarify the difference between the various styles. If you thought that it was correct to dance by counting 1, 2 cha cha cha, then you have been misled. If your teacher taught you that timing, then you have wasted your time, effort & money even if that teacher is qualified &/or well established! Some qualifications don't seem to count for anything nowadays!

The following clip shows the basic step & its correct timing for International style. Note that Men step forwards on beat 2 whilst Ladies step back.

Why Learn To Dance

Good dancing is all about musical interpretation, and good partner dancing is about 2 people moving together in time with the music. It therefore makes sense that dancers need to understand something about the music in order to be able to interpret it well.

Whatever partner dance you chose, it will be uncomfortable for you if you partner can dance if you have had little or no dance lessons. Vice Versa is equally uncomfortable. This is because partner dancing is about a couple moving together in time with the music, and if you cannot synchronise with your partner you find yourselves treading on each other’s feet & bumping into each other. If you & your partner move successfully together, but are not in time with the music, you may be comfortable, but it would still suck.

Most Americans reverse the ladies & men's timing as compared to International style. There are other styling aspects which are different too. For example, below we can see Frankie Martinez with Lori Perez performing their own style of cha cha cha. Frankie spent several months learning the Modern Ballroom style before creating a style of his own and is regarded by many as being the best of the New York Mambo style salsa teachers and teaches at salsa congresses all over the world. Frankie is one of the best New York Mambo dancers in the world, but his own style of cha cha cha is still not in the same league as that shown by the International style dancers above in the opinion of many outside of the salsa world.

Below shows a basic lesson in the American style. Note that Men step backwards on beat 2 whilst Ladies step fowards in this style which is the reverse of the International style above. As we count normally count cha cha cha over 4 beats rather than 8, it should really make much difference.

Of course, if you know salsa well, and can dance on 2 but can't be bothered to learn cha cha cha moves it is possible to adopt complex salsa moves to cha cha cha timing, and then you get something like the video clip below which doesn't look anything like either the Cuban or International styles above.

Below we see some Eduardo (El Mulato) Hernandez & Marta performing cha cha cha with their troup in Cali and then they change beat to breaking on 1 instead of On2 after a pause in the music, spoiling an otherwise impressive show. They should have known better, but Caleños are reknown for breaking the rules of dance. Small wonder why people get confused it takes years to convince them to dance cha cha cha breaking on beat 2.

To add to the possible confusion over timing, there are also line dances such as the cha cha slide shown below which isn't really cha cha cha at all although it bears the name & some similarity. The timing may different in these line dances as they were invented by people who dance cha cha cha incorrectly with the break on beat 1 one instead of beat 2.

It also seems to be common for people to socially dance cha cha cha sequence dances incorrectly (on1) e.g. Sally Ann Cha Cha Cha.