Cha Cha - Not As Simple As it Appears

And so I have arrived at Cha Cha.  A seemingly simple dance with the basic count of 1-2-Cha-Cha-Cha.  However, the tricky part of Cha Cha is that it is a fast dance with small movements and much room for error.  For starters, your toes are supposed to be pointed slightly out in most moves (with heels together).  My feet do not naturally go that way! My feet and toes, when standing naturally, point straight forward.  This is an attribute that I had always thought was positive since I have never had to worry about looking pigeon-toed.  But in Cha Cha toes have to point out so I am faced with the unpleasant task of trying to remember the foot work for this dance while contorting my feet in directions they do not want to go.  But in addition to the footwork there are also many unintuitive arm movements that must be learned. 

Remember those early days in middle school when we were just learning about kissing and everyone always asked , “But what do I do with my hands or my arms?! It’s so awkward!”  This is kind of how I feel about Cha Cha because I NEVER know what I am supposed to do with my arms or my hands until shown.  None of it feels natural and in fact I have to practice making the Cha Cha arm movements so they WILL in fact “look natural”.  I think I actually pulled a muscle trying to do the correct arm movement for the cross over breaks the first time. 

Okay, so I have to focus on pointing my toes out, remembering footwork, crazy arm movements (and arm lines) all while keeping time to the music! Oh and trying to remember the Cha Cha routine too!!  My only hope to conquer this dance is to practice the basic Cha Cha moves solo and focus on the little things like keeping my toes pointed, my heels together, and my hips doing…..what?  I think that is a question I will need to ask in my next lesson. J