My Favorite Cuban Dances

Music is part of the everyday life of Cuban people. They are all born feeling the rhythm of these hot and passionate Latin music and dance styles. If you have the chance to visit this unique and wonderful country and spend some days at a Varadero hotel or other beach hotel where animation is included, don’t skip the salsa lessons! You won’t be professional, but definitely can taste the spicy flavour of the dance. Rumba and cha-cha-cha are the two other very popular styles originating from Cuba. Let’s get familiar with the background of these three dances.

Musicians in Santiago de Cuba

Salsa

Salsa is the life itself! - Told by those who had already been captured by the world of salsa.

The word salsa means sauce, a spicy mixture and this is very typical to this genre as it is made up from several different music styles and dances. Cuban salsa was affected by the slaves brought from Africa, the Caribbean area, the Latin-Americans and later by North-America also. In the music of salsa we can also find everything from African congas to jazz.

The real Cuban salsa is all about the improvisational, passionate dancing in pairs with no quantitative requirements. All that matters is the rhythm. For Cuban salsa is not a basic step and a dozen figures, it is a complex view of life used for self-realization.

The male and female roles are very important in this dance. First weeks are very hard for men when learning salsa: they have to not learn the steps, the rhythm and figures but also have to find out the next figure well in advance to be able to lead their partner.  The challenge for women at the same time is to follow the steps of the beginner men and not to take the lead.
So salsa means that the man gives the solid foundation and the woman provides the thrilling seasoning.

Rumba

Rumba is a collection of more Cuban dances. The word itself means celebration or dance.

In this dance the lyrical movements blend with erotic elements. The music has a typical rich, Afro-Cuban style. The first rumba hit that captivated the world was ‘The peanut vendor’.

The dance is characterized by an erotic game, the hottest amorous rivalry. Many figures let the women show the art of temptation. It’s a dialogue between men and women, in which women vacillate between devotion and rejection and men fluctuate between attraction and independence. The hip motions are very important in rumba, but it also includes different jazz elements.

Cha-cha-cha

The cha-cha-cha is one of the latest phenomenons of the development of the Afro-Cuban music. Just like the mambo, it was a music style first.

It is a relatively rapid, very imaginative dance with playful tones. The creator of cha-cha-cha was Enrique Jorrin, a musician from Havana. In 1953 he played mambo too fast, but it was not really successful. So he slowed it down and the mambo-cha-cha-cha was born.

This immersive Cuba music captivated North-America first and in 1954 it became a fashion dance. The dance lets the dancers feel free and they are characterized by joy and admiration.

Have you heard enough? Turn the music on and let your body move!