Arthur Murray, an enterprising young dance teacher from NY state,
and his wife Kathyn formed a nationwide network of dance studios called Arthur
Murray Studios. If you wanted to learn a new dance or brushup on the ones
you knew, you went to the Arthur Murray Studios.
He modified
authentic "cha" which uses instruments such as the Cowbell (pico), Cascara
(side of the Timbale), Clave, Conga, and Guiro which are the same in instruments
used in Mambo, into what has become known as "cha cha". The scraping
and shuffling of the feet in these steps produce a sound, that sounds like
"Cha Cha Cha". The Arthur Murray Dance Studio simplified the dance
by dropping off a Cha. The Cha Cha became slower and easier to dance
for the North American.
Arthur
Murray then went to Cuba and received an official Letter of Recognition from
the Governor of Cuba stating the Cha Cha Cha was a Latin dance from Cuba.
Arthur Murray Studios also became famous for turning out some of the best
Mambo dancers of the times. The studios can still be found in most
major cities today.
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