Whatever Happened to Cha-Cha-Chá?

Wait…people still dance Cha-Cha-Chá? HELL YES THEY DO. This week, Kate teaches Lou about one of their favorite dances, the Cha-Cha! Where did it come from? Why did it become a massive dance craze? How does it fit into the history of Cuban and Latin partner dance? And why might you see a dance floor thin out when a Cha-Cha comes on today? We talk about the history, the Cuban craze of the 1950s, the rise of salsa, and how dance histories can get lost when we stop teaching them. Then Kate breaks down the rhythm a bit, puts on some Tito Puente, and teaches Lou how to dance the Cha-Cha basic. Before you know it, Kate and Lou are at the club dancing Cha-Cha! Because the best way to keep a dance alive is to know where it came from and dance the damn thing with your friends!🕺Some Notes, clarifications and Resources⭐A note on names: We mostly use Cha-Cha-Chá when referring to the original Cuban music and dance tradition. You may also hear the shortened name Cha-Cha, particularly when talking about later social and ballroom adaptations. ⭐Son and rumba predate Cha-Cha-Chá and belong to the much broader Cuban musical tapestry surrounding its development. ⭐Cha-Cha-Chá’s movement out of the center of the U.S. social dance scene was not caused by one event. Changing musical tastes and dance cultures, changes in Cuban and U.S. cultural exchange, and the later prominence of salsa all form pieces of a much bigger story. ⭐One correction from our conversation: Cha-Cha-Chá is not exclusively danced on2. Different social traditions use different timing conventions, as do later forms of ballroom Cha-Cha. Kate teaches the on2 timing used in the episode. 

📚Read & Explore

📖Jeffrey Torchon, “Cuban Cha-Cha-Chá: Applications for Music Education in the United States” Read the article

📖National Geographic, “History of Ballroom Dance: Cha-Cha-Chá”Read the article

🎻Listen!🎵Enrique Jorrín🎵Orquesta América🎵Orquesta Aragón 🎵Tito Puente