Ever so often I come across the oddest little novelties. The Rock'n'Cha is a conga-line type dance which was discussed in the January, 1958 issue of Dance Magazine. The cha-cha was first introduced in the 1950s, and it seems to have spawned some weird group variants (Cha-Cha Choo-Choo Caboose, anyone?) The notes for this dance were sent to the magazine by Chicago resident Louise Ege, who attributed them to Grace Hansen, Dance Coordinator and Professional Consultant for the Chicago YMCA and head of the ballroom committee of the Chicago National Associate of Dance Masters. Mrs. Ege claimed that Chicago teens loved the dance, with it even having "replaced the Bunny Hop in their affections." I'm not sure what this says about either the taste of Chicago teens in early 1958 or the accuracy of Mrs. Ege's observations of contemporary teen culture.
The formation is a single line, hand on shoulder of the person in front. Everyone starts on the same foot and does the same moves. There are three sections to the dance: the Rock, the Penguin (!), and the Break-Away Turn, danced in a sequence of Rock-Rock-Penguin-Turn. The names of the Rock and Turn sequences are self-explanatory. The Penguin refers to the movement of that section being "like a penguin, jiggling and teetering from side to side." I usually find it best not to think too hard about this sort of simile in a dance choreography.
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