Again-- you are giving me " Performance" pieces , which is within the norm for show work.

As to Cha-- you are light yrs away from the truth.

There are 2 legitimate contenders, one i was introduced to in Miami in 1977 ( cant remeber his name ) and the other is documented, and is from Cuba .
The name Cha Cha, stems from the way the singers shuffled their feet to the music. And cha cha is an extension of Guajira which was developed from Triple Mambo . I still teach and dance both on occasion.

The reason Cha was introduced ?-- the musical accents in the music began to change and the syncop. was removed from within the bar, to become a "pickup " connection BETWEEN 2 bars.

As a matter of note ( I dj salsa ) there are some groups out of NY. that sometimes include a Guajira in their releases.The syncop by the way is--on 3 and 4 ( old triple mambo )


I have done extensive research on the subject, and you need to go to salsaforums ( where all the latinos post ) and this will dispel most of the myths that exist . Everything is documented-- no hearsay is allowed , and if found out to be so, will be exposed .

PS-- In the " Latino " world-- Cha Cha does not exist ask any dj in the states ( latin clubs ) they will always say we dont play ballroom music !!

According to the information available on Paul Killicks site In 1940 the Mambo was popular in the USA but was found to be difficult because of the speed they were played at. As the Orchestras slowed it down the Cha Cha was born.
Would you remember when the Cha was not danced in competition, and we had a Nine Dance World Champion. Not a Ten Dance. It was also not a part of the Latin medals test. It was a medal on its own.
As you are well aware we dance The Rumba to music that does not have the predominant percussive accents with beat four .It is becoming a thing of the past. It has come a long way since those early days. In my humble opinion the traditional Rumba owes its existance to the International Style of Rumba without which it would still remain in the country of its birth. What now if we get onto Samba The above applies there also.

Well Paul is wrong-- mambo did not gain popularity until 1950-- reason ? -- the Arthur Murray t.v. show . I worked , and managed for several who were part of the process.

Again-- you need to read the TRUE versions, from the people who were responsible for the introduction and growth. One is still living in Miami as of today-- Cuban Pete .

The palladium in NY , the venue for all of the local latinos was a showcase for the dance.It did not reach the general populace until the middle/late fifties ( I know, I was there-- was Paul- I think not ).
My evidence is empirical. I danced among and was " educated " by some of the " legends " , in the business .

Its the same old story-- a title behind your name, and everyone thinks that they have the answers to everything !. Have worked alongside , and with world class Prof. who do not have a clue about the music, other than beats and bars .

There has been an ongoing discussion on another major " site " about the origins, background, music etc. and its effect on performance . The " camp" is somewhat divided . --No surprise !

You only have to look at what Pierre did to Latin !!
In reality-- mambo was borne out of Danzon and Bolero construction.
The change came about when the 2/4 timing changed to 4/4--- even then-- that was not the authentic rhythm--

" Son " is,---- which is in 4/6 time --and, it is also a dance , which I will be introducing here, in about a month .

I might not be making myself clear here. If it wasn't for the International Style of Latin Dancing would they be dancing a Rumba or a Samba or a Cha in. I will give you a statistic from Dancesportinfo Net. 74,023 couples from 79 countries 115,244 individual dancers.I doubt it very much. Also the music played in a competition or in a studio has got to be first class. I could go to a studio and be happy just sitting and listening to the music if it is good. And to get back to the original discussion. Most of the Argentine Tango traditional music would not be my sit down and listen to choice. I say again. The steps are fantastic. The music at the presnt time is lousy. Being that we dance the same dance all through the evening there needs to be a greater variaty of tempos played, which means there needs to be a distinct beat and not something that has beats all over the place. Personaly I am for the tempo and style Robert Duvall danced in his film.

I am in perfect agreement with that.

The music, to my mind , has to inspire . With it being a very subjective medium, the choices should always be varied .

I Dj for my salsa and B/Room socials . I program all music before hand, write down each # played, and with few exceptions ,do not repeat on next session.

I worked in a studio many, many yrs ago, that had the lesson music on tape. It would play for the length of the lesson- the next hr. would be a repeat performance !. There was supposed to be a change of tape, but quite often did not change .

The Practicas in the last city in which I lived in the states, had a good variety of Tango, mainly classical, with Milonga , and waltz mixed in .