Cha Cha

A pre-bronze set pattern dance in Cha Cha rhythm, skated side by side on identical steps, built around quick chassés and a two-foot slalom.

dance

Not checked yet. The mechanics on this page are a first draft by a non-expert, and no coach has seen them yet. Read them as a starting point and check them with a coach. Corrections are very welcome.

The dance

Cha Cha in 4/4, 100 beats a minute. The hold is open or Kilian. Both partners skate the same steps. 14 steps and 32 beats to one pattern.

One sequence on a 60 x 30 metre rink, drawn upright as the rulebooks draw it, starting at the dot and travelling anticlockwise. The faint half is the same steps skated again. Rinks vary, and on a smaller one the pattern shrinks to fit. Measured from the diagram in U.S. Figure Skating 2026-27 Rulebook, page Dance-14.

Step	Hold	Both partners	Beats
1	Open or Kilian	LFO	2
2		RFI-Pr	2
3		LFI	1
4		RFO-Ch	1
5		LFI wide step	2
6		RFO	4
7		Slalom BK	1 + 1 + 2
8		RFO	1.5
9		LFI-Ch	0.5
10		RFI	2
11		LFO-SwR	4
12		RFO	2
13		XB-LFI	2
14		RFI-SwR	4

The steps are in the rulebook's own notation: foot, direction and edge, with Pr for a progressive, Ch for a chassé, SwR for a swing roll, XB and XF for a cross step behind or in front, 3 for a three turn, CSt and SSt for C and S steps, Op for open and Cl for closed. From the step chart in US Figure Skating's 2026-27 rulebook.

The Cha Cha is skated in open or Kilian position, with both partners on the same steps. US Figure Skating asks couples to show its unusual rhythm through free leg expression and upper body carriage, holding the tempo while still finding some edge depth.

The rulebook singles out the two-foot slalom at Step 7: both blades stay on the ice with knees bent, rising and falling at each change of curve while the hips twist under quiet shoulders, until the push onto the RFO at Step 8. A half-beat chassé leads into the closing lobe, where Step 12 may be an open stroke or an optional cross in front, and the free leg on the two swing rolls is the skater’s choice.

The Cha Cha is not on the British Ice Skating national pattern dance list. US Figure Skating tests it at Pre-bronze.

Appears in

In the UK's grades

None of the British level lists in this guide name it outside the Skills tests below.

No test syllabus recorded yet.