The Cha-cha has some similarities with rumba and mambo. The main features of the dance are the following: spot turns, the cross-body lead, fifth position breaks, crossover breaks, back spot turn. The back spot turn is also famous as the natural top.
The key part of the dance and namely the function of the leader is assigned to the man. The man takes a checked forward step with his left foot. The main rule consists in the fact that the knee of the right leg must be straight. It must stay close to the back of the left knee. On order to receive part weight the left leg remains straightened. Further the right leg receives the full weight when the dancer makes the second step. This movement is called beat three. The fourth beat includes two steps. Thus the count of the next three steps is 4 and 1. They also make up the Cha-cha chasse.
Then one of the partners makes the following movements. The dancer takes a step backwards on the right foot. In this case the knee taking the full weight must be straightened. The other leg may also remain straight. While carrying out beat three the weight goes to the left leg.
Each partner has the possibility to dance the bar which has been previously performed by the dancer.
It is noteworthy that the classical construction of Cha-cha-cha consists of two bars.
The following tips can be very helpful in order to avoid some mistakes:
1 While taking the steps the dancer should always shift the complete weight.
2 Dancers should not take too large steps.
3 Men should keep their heads up and should not look straight.
4 A good Cha-cha-cha dancer has to practice counting.
5 It is advisable to avoid shaking or twisting the hips.
These golden rules may be very helpful for dancers who want to obtain great results.
