Cha-Cha Slide Trivia Quiz

Though DJ Casper follows up with "clap, clap, clap, clap your hands" (x2), the speed in which he speaks is not the speed in which one claps. You can hear a clap sound in the background to indicate the clapping speed, which is every second time he says clap, as shown on the official music video. Of course, if you're like me, you clap like crazy and no one will say anything if you clap as you wish to.

Interestingly, DJ Casper originally wrote this song as a step aerobics routine for his nephew. Originally, it was just a set of instructions. When it was released as a single, the song was also called "Casper Slide Part 2" (which is also sung in the intro) to indicate that it is the follow-up to the instructional format, now including music; a sequel to the original, as it were.

Two separate lines that are often confused; "slide to the left" and "to the left". "To the left" is the first instance of a "duplicate" move, though according to the original music video, it is actually done in a different way than the sliding style. Of course, over time, every move has earned its own sophisticated variations by all sorts of clubgoers and dancers; it's more entertaining to watch a group put their own unique flairs to the dance!

Before the actual single was released, DJ Casper and his crew passed out instructional dance videos to the clubs. The intent was to make the dance a craze before the song even hit; if you see a group dancing to a song at the club, you are more inclined to join. If no one knows the song already, it may fail...

This must have worked, since the song propelled to number one and became an instant club dance phenomenon; and a mainstay even decades later.

In the original music video, news reporters arrive on scene of a "flash" mob where everyone is already doing the Cha-Cha Slide. The reporter (named Rachel) jumps out of the van and starts to join the flash mob in the dance, reporting the dance craze "live" from Chicago.

It cuts to DJ Casper himself teaching us the dance, and switches through to all sorts of groups dancing the new craze, before we end with Rachel and news crew all joining in on the fun new beat.

Are you dancing along with the quiz? It makes sense as a step aerobics routine. "Casper Slide Part 1" was just the instructional video for Bally Total Fitness in Chicago's Hyde Park, where DJ Casper's nephew, David Wilson, was working as a fitness trainer. It began being used in 1998, but without its own music; the backing music was Jaydee's "Plastic Dreams".

DJ Casper never owned the rights to "Plastic Dreams". So, as the instructional video gained traction, it was necessary to create his own music for it. He hired the band leader for the Platinum Band to help, and they were able to create the music behind the track, and cement his song as uniquely his, but, as an homage to the origins, now included "Part 2" in the official title.

It was finally in September of 2000 that DJ Casper and M.O.B. Music Publishing were able to release the official "The Original Slide Album" (it was released as a single one month prior). Despite its staying power and popularity in clubs throughout the years, the song only ever reached 83 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US.

In March of 2004, when it was released in the UK, It reached number one on the UK Singles, Scotland Singles, and Ireland Dance charts.

During the actual "cha-cha" bit, a small, single person cha-cha variation is performed. The cha-cha-cha is a quickstep dance, with a lot of hip movement. In the line dance, this is more converted to the arms to mimic the flowiness of the dance. Of course, over the years played in clubs and dance halls, with the cha-cha not being always known by the line dancers, the part of the song has sort of morphed into a free-for-all random dance bit for many.

This is also one of the lines that makes it just as fun to watch from the sidelines as people put their own twist onto a basic line dance.

In August of 2020, for the 20th anniversary of the song, Google released an Easter Egg. If you were to search for "Cha-Cha Slide", a microphone would appear next to the video. The microphone acted as a button, which, when pressed, played various lyrics from the song.

This may have been helpful in that year as some people might have missed their nightly club ventures due to COVID-19, so perhaps this little Easter Egg helped keep us united in dance through lockdown.