Cha-cha-chá (Cuban dance)

Cha-cha-chá (Cuban dance)

The "cha-cha-chá" is a Cuban dance that became popular in the 1950s in conjunction with "cha-cha-chá" dance music.

Origins

The inventor of the musical genre "cha-cha-chá" was a violinist and composer named Enrique Jorrín, whose song [http://www.folkways.si.edu/search/MP3Player.aspx?TAID=8379 La Engañadora] (1951) is considered to be the first "cha-cha-chá" ever composed (Orovio 1981:130-1).

From the beginning (that is to say, the later stages of development of the "danzón-mambo"), the composers and interpreters of "cha-cha-chás" had a symbiotic relationship with the dancing public:

"What Jorrín composed, by his own admission, were nothing but creatively modified "danzones". The well-known name came into being with the help of the dancers [of the Silver Star Club in Havana] , when, in inventing the dance that was coupled to the rhythm, it was discovered that their feet were making a peculiar sound as they grazed the floor on three successive beats: "cha-cha-chá", and from this sound was born, by onomatopeia, the name that caused people all around the world to want to move their feet..." (Sanchez-Coll 2006)

The "three successive beats" are the "1-2-3" steps, as counted in Cuba (see below).

Basic Step

The "cha-cha-chá" begins on the fourth beat of a measure of 4/4. Cuban dancers count it "1-2-3, 1-2."

Figures

The following figures are basic to a knowledge of the "cha-cha-chá": "giro separándose y encontrándose la pareja" (turn where partners separate and then reunite), "paseo" (moving forward or backward around the dance floor), "rebote" (open to the side-close) and "paso lateral" (side step) (Fernández 1974:80-6).

Among the more advanced figures are "vuelta con palmadas" ("complete turn and clap hands"), "amague," and "vuelta complicada" ("complicated turn").

References

* Fernández, María Antonia. 1974. Bailes Populares Cubanos. La Habana, Editorial Pueblo y Educación.
* Orovio, Helio. 1981. Diccionario de la Música Cubana. La Habana, Editorial Letras Cubanas. ISBN 959-10-0048-0
*cite news|last=Sanchez-Coll|first=Israel|url=http://www.conexioncubana.net/index.php?st=content&sk=view&id=1753&sitd=305
title=Enrique Jorrín|publisher=Conexión Cubana|date= 2006-02-08 |accessdate=2007-01-31


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Cha-cha-cha — or Cha Cha Cha may refer to: Cha cha chá (music), a style of Cuban dance music Cha cha cha (dance), a Latin American dance Cha cha chá (Cuban dance), a style of Cuban dance Cha Cha Cha (MC Lyte song), a 1989 song by hip hop artist MC Lyte Cha Cha …   Wikipedia

  • Cha-cha-cha (music) — Music of Cuba General topics Related articles Genres Batá and yuka · Bolero · Chachachá · …   Wikipedia

  • Cha-cha-cha (dance) — Cha cha cha Junior dance competition in the Czech Republic Genre Ballroom dance Time signature 4/4 Inventor Enrique Jorrín …   Wikipedia

  • Dance in Cuba — Cuban dance with Cuban rhythms is a distinctive style known throughout Latin America. Traditional Cuban music has its roots in African culture. Cuban dances include Son, Danzón, Danzonete, Cha cha, Mambo and others. Cuba has many dances that… …   Wikipedia

  • Cuban motion — is characterized by a rhythmic swaying of the hips caused by the bending and straightening of the knees (though the knees remain soft slightly bent at all times). It is a style of movement which should be present in Latin American dances,… …   Wikipedia

  • Cuban Link — Birth name Felix Delgado Also known as Cuban Links, Cuban Linx, Link Born December 14, 1974 (1974 12 14) (age 36) Havana, Cuba Origin …   Wikipedia

  • Cha-Cha — cha Pour les articles homonymes, voir Cha Cha Cha (homonymie) et Chacha. danseurs de cha cha cha Le …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Cha-Cha-Cha — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Cha Cha Cha (homonymie) et Chacha. danseurs de cha cha cha Le …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Cha-cha — cha Pour les articles homonymes, voir Cha Cha Cha (homonymie) et Chacha. danseurs de cha cha cha Le …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Cha-cha-chá — Cha cha cha Pour les articles homonymes, voir Cha Cha Cha (homonymie) et Chacha. danseurs de cha cha cha Le …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”