Ballroom Dances

Cha Cha Dance

Cha-cha-cha is the name of a Latin American dance of Cuban origin. Cha Cha is a lively, flirtatious ballroom dance full of passion and energy. The classic "Cuban motion" gives Cha Cha its unique style. Partners work together to synchronize each movement in perfect alignment.

Cha-cha-cha may be either danced to authentic Cuban music, or Latin Pop or Latin Rock. The music for the international ballroom cha-cha-cha is energetic and with a steady beat. The Cuban cha-cha-chá is more sensual and may involve complex polyrhythms.

Basic Steps:

The basic pattern involves the lead taking a forward step with the left foot retaining some weight on the right foot, the knee of the right leg must stay straight and close to the back of the left knee, the left leg having straightened just prior to receiving part weight. This step is taken on the second beat of the bar. Full weight is returned to the right leg on the second step (beat three.) The fourth beat is split in two so the count of the next three steps is 4-and-1. These three steps constitute the cha-cha-cha chasse. A step to the side is taken with the left foot, the right foot is half closed towards the left foot, and finally there is a last step to the left with the left foot. The length of the steps in the chasse depend very much on the effect the dancer is attempting to make.

Footwork:

In general, steps in all directions should be taken first with the ball of the foot in contact with the floor, and then with the heel lowering when the weight is fully transferred; however, some steps require that the heel remain lifted from the floor. When weight is released from a foot, the heel should release from the floor first, allowing the toe to maintain contact with the floor.

Foxtrot

Foxtrot is a ballroom dance that is lots of fun and simple to learn and it's an excellent dance for beginners. Foxtrot is a smooth dance in which dancers make long, flowing movements across the floor. It is often said that foxtrot took its name from its inventor, the vaudeville actor Harry Fox; however the exact origins are unclear.

During 1940s, foxtrot was certainly the most popular fast dance and the vast majority of records issued during these years were foxtrots. The waltz and tango, while popular, never overtook the foxtrot. Even the popularity of the lindy hop in the 1940s didn't dent the foxtrot because the foxtrot could be danced to those lindy hop records, as well.

Over time, Foxtrot split in to two versions;slow (Foxtrot) and quick (Quickstep) versions. In the slow category, further distinctions exist between the International or English style of foxtrot and the continuity American style, both built around a slow-quick-quick rhythm at the slowest tempo, and the social American style using a slow-slow-quick-quick rhythm at a somewhat faster pace.

Jive

Jive is a dance style in 4/4 time that originated in the United States from African-Americans in the early 1940s. It is a lively and it's a form of swing dance.

Jive is one of the five International Latin dances. In competition it is danced at a speed of 44 bars per minute, although in other cases this is reduced to between 32 and 40 bars per minute. Many of its basic patterns are similar to these of the East Coast Swing with the major difference of highly syncopated rhythm of the Triple Steps (Chasses), which use straight eighths in ECS and hard swing in Jive.

Basic steps:

• Counts 1,2 - Rock step: left foot step back, right foot replace
• Counts 3,4 - Chasse to the left
• Counts 5,6 - Chasse to the right

Lindy Hop

Lindy Hop is based on the popular Charleston and named for Charles Lindbergh's Atlantic crossing in 1927. It evolved in New York City in the 1920s and '30s and originally evolved with the jazz music. Lindy was a fusion of many dances that preceded it or were popular during its development but is mainly based on Jazz, Tap, breakaway and Charleston. It is frequently described as a jazz dance and is a member of the swing dance family.

Lindy Hop combined both partnered and solo dancing by using the movements and improvisation of black dances along with the formal eight-count structure of European partner dances. This is most clearly illustrated in the Lindy's basic step, the swingout. In this step's open position, each dancer is generally connected hand-to-hand; in its closed position, men and women are connected as though in an embrace.

Revived in the 1980s by American, Swedish, and British dancers, the Lindy Hop is now represented by dancers and loosely affiliated grass roots organizations found in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.

Mambo Dance

Mambo is a Latin dance of Cuban origin that corresponds to mambo music. Mambo music was invented in 1930s Havana by Cachao and his contemporaries and made popular around the world by Perez Prado and Beny Moré. Mambo music developed from Danzon and was heavily influenced by the Jazz musicians that the Italian-American gangsters, who controlled Havana's casinos, brought to entertain their American customers.

The Mambo dance that was invented by Perez Prado and was popular in the 1940s and 50s Cuba, Mexico City, New York and right around the US and Latin America is completely different to the modern dance that New Yorkers now call 'Mambo' or 'breaking on 2'. The original and pure form of the mambo dance contains no breaking steps at all, whether on 1 or 2. The original form of the dance and music are alive and well in Cuba and some ballroom variations of the original dance are taught in dance studios.