A song was released in August of 2000. It spent five weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 but even more so is the fact that it has stayed in popular culture for years after that. It’s called “Cha Cha Slide” and is from DJ Casper. Also known as Mr. C the Slide Man, he was raised in Englewood, Chicago and this man had no idea his song would skyrocket to fame.
Casper wrote it for his nephew.
His nephew worked as a personal trainer in a gym. The song was written with the intent of getting people to move. It was aimed for aerobics classes and other fitness routines that required participants to be constantly moving. It worked.
Check out these dancers.
The lyrics pretty much tell you what you have to do all throughout the song. But it’s so upbeat and uptempo that you would have to keep your wits about you else you get lost and left behind. This is the “Casper slide part 2“.
The song caught the attention of a local radio station in 2004.
Record labels took notice and soon, DJ Casper started receiving phone calls asking him to go on tour. And all it took was a favor for his nephew. It’s so simple and easy to follow. The catch is to stay sharp.
The intro allows participants to warm up a bit. These four ladies and two guys do a simple side to side step to the beat just to get those juices flowing. The first part of the song is fairly easy.
Clap your hands.
The basic four counts make it easy to count as you go along. They step twice to the left as told, twice backwards, then a single hop. It goes on to foot stomps. Right foot first, then left. Put some rhythm into it!
Then the Cha Cha!
After the first sequence of steps, they face right and repeat the same movements. The basic steps are repeated but it allows the more advanced dancers to improvise a few moves here and there in between the instructions and the beat.
Once they face the opposite direction, DJ Casper takes it up a notch. Two hops to the Cha Cha, calling them to slide left then right, and a crisscross or two and suddenly it’s apparent why this is such a hit for fitness classes.
Hands on your knees!
This song is also played in nightclubs, prom nights, birthday parties, roller rinks, weddings… Well, you get it. Even the NBA plays this song! It’s always on the playlist and it’s even been translated in China. Who did that?
Freeze! Clap your hands!
It goes on and on with the same steps called out in different parts of the song. Some are increased in repetitions, while other steps thrown in out of nowhere. It’s straightforward but it gets the heart pumping that’s for sure!
The ladies are outstanding and they all join in getting ready for quite the fun and workout ahead of them!
Think you can keep up? Then click below and find out!
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