Home |
Vita |
The Arts |
Walk In, Dance Out |
Developing Literacy |
TED / CED |
CSULB | <"/center"
How Does One Dance Cha Cha?
• Beginners
(1) can master the rhythm and easy Cha Cha figures from Lesson 7 of the Walk In, Dance Out series to enjoy in social dance situations.
(2) Round dancing provides sequential lessons with opportunities for learning new figures and dance routines (see resources below) in a non-competitive, friendly atmosphere with abundant floor time for practice (this link, after the ad, provides very short videos explaining round dancing).Find an Instructor near you (make selections on spreadsheet) or gather some friends and persuade a round dancer/instructor to teach you!
(3) Written material and videos are available (listed at the bottom of this page and at the bottom of the figures chart)
(4) And the Teaching Sequence below provides abundant information!
• Dancers with some experience should consider joining the International Choreographed Ballroom Dance Association (ICBDA) and attending their annual convention where one hall is devoted to newer dancers.
• Ballroom coaches offer classes and private lessons to improve technique.
Resources Available on This Website:
| Cha Cha Figures and Sources for How to Dance Them | |
| • Monitor your progress • Find resoures |
|
| The Character of Cha Cha | |
• Timing, characteristics, history Evolution of Cha Cha View of contemporary Cha Cha standard figures
|
|
| A Teaching Sequence | |
Three levels of round dance routines (Phases 4, 5, and 6) of "Another Saturday Night" introduce limited information at each phase. Supplemental Notes explain more, including how to lead the figures. |
|
| Latin/Rhythm Figures Chart | |
| • Identifies similar figures to assist transferring knowledge to other rhythms • Includes synonymous ballroom names |
|
Links to Other Round Dance Resources
* Fancy Figures: Phase III Latins, pp. 13-62 provides written material and footprints free to all ICBDA members (on right-hand menu of member home page find “How to Dance” and select “Beginning Manuals”). Newer information is available in the Teaching Sequence, Roundalab manuals and videos, and Worlock website.
• A video catalog is a data base with links to many Cha Cha routines being danced (select “Cha” at the bottom of the spreadsheet). Then select a dance title to see the video on YouTube. The corresponding cuesheet is available by selecting “CS” on the same line. The green 3 indicates the easiest dances; scroll down to find more dances.
• An Index of Rounds provides ready access to cue sheets for hundreds of Cha Cha routines. In the “Rhythm” window type “cha” and the list appears. Select a specific cue sheet to print it out. The latest dances submitted are listed at the top of the list. One can limit the search (for example select “3” in the Phase column or choose a favorite choreographer). As soon as a selection has been made, the appropriate results appear.
• Clinic Notes from ICBDA Conventions featuring Cha Cha and Latin/Rhythm.
• Curt and Tammy Worlock have a Bootcamp describing Cha Cha figures in round dancing,
• Cue Sheet Writing Guidelines, from Roundalab, provides information about how to read cue sheets.
• Roundalab also has a list of Abbreviations used in cuesheets and sells subscriptions to their manuals.
• Sears' Website (> Round Dance Manual and > Articles) has information about how to dance this rhythm.