Ultimate Strictly

CHA CHA CHA

History

The Cha Cha Cha was developed in the 1950s when an English dance teacher was travelling in Cuba and noticed that a modified Rumba step (the Cha Cha) was being danced a faster pace with extra beats. He started teaching this a different dance and the Cha Cha Cha was born from this Cuban Rumba step.

While the Cha Cha Cha is based on the steps of the Rumba, it is danced to a faster pace, and with a cheeky, flirty feel as opposed to the seduction and romance of the Rumba. The dance should be fun, with lots of hip action.

The dance

The steps include Cuban breaks, which are groups of syncopated steps where the couple cross in front of each other, with their legs remaining parallel and toes turned out. Also expect to see a New York, where the couple hold each others hand out in front of them, then move to have their backs to each other, forming a strong V shape between them. The cheekiest, flirtiest step, is the Wiggle where both dancers face forward and the woman will crouch down at the mans feet then holding on to his hips, wiggle her way up his legs!

The costumes for the girls are often some of the most revealing on the show with lots of sparkle, and will usually include fringing or beading to emphasise the speed of the dance. For the men, it will usually be black trousers with a close fited top, usually picking up a colour from the girls costume to highlight the partnership, and give some added sparkle!

The judges in Strictly Come Dancing will be looking for synchronised movements, with the dancers working in parallel to each other, and that the dancers legs should not move outside the frame of the body.

The best of Strictly

The Cha Cha Cha should be a cheeky, fun dance, but rarely a show-stopping dance - it just doesn't have the "wow" factor. Thankfully, there are always exceptions. In the final of series six, Lisa & Brendan achieved the perfect score of four 10s for the routine they danced to "Tears Dry On Their Own", and in series 5, Alesha & Matthew gave us an awesome, powerful routine to 'Crazy In Love' earning three 10's and a total of 39 points for their routine, unprecedented at only over half way through the competition. Whilst there have been much better routines from a technical point of view, it was with a Cha Cha Cha that Karen Hardy grabbed our attention, with a charming, witty, fun routine for her newscaster partner Bill Turnball in series 3, showing just how important choreography is when putting together a routine for an inexperienced celebrity dancer.

The worst of Strictly

I don't think many people would argue against Quentin & Hazel's routine in series two being the worst dance in the history of Strictly, let alone the worst Cha Cha Cha. The judges certainly agreed giving them only 8 points in total, with Craig giving Quentin the title, "Britain's Worst Dancer". Although by most people's standards Gary was nowhere near as bad as Quentin, Craig felt Gary & Karen's Cha Cha Cha in the first week of series six was only worth 1 point, although the other judges awarded them fives and sixes for a total score of 19 points.

Scores for all Cha Cha Cha performances:

*Arlene Phillips judged series one to six, while Alesha Dixon judged series 7 onwards.