Rumba and Cha-cha-cha are both Latin American dances of Cuban origin. Came from the same music and dance, rumba and cha-cha-cha developed their own character and gained popularity all over the world. Now let’s see what principal differences of these dances are so you may easily choose the one that will suit you.
What is rumba dance?
Rumba is a dance and music style originated in Cuba. It has several variations, each of them has its own music and dance features, but in general they are rather similar. Today the word rumba means a type of ballroom dances which is a part of almost all dance competitions.
Rumba is a pair dance which is considered to be the «grandfather of the Latin dances». What is special about rumba is its smooth erotic moves linked with large steps. This is a dance when the male-partner follows the lady flirting with her and the lady rejects him. The basic dance figures are hip actions and rhythmic body movements full of passion.
Nowadays rumba is popular on each continent. Ballroom rumba is a bit different from the original Cuban version. At the beginning of the 19th century there were 3 versions of rumba, but the most popular was Guaguanco rumba. After being exported to the USA, rumba underwent great changes. It became more restrained and decent. And this renewed American version was spread all over the world.
What is cha-cha-cha dance?
Cha-cha-cha is a flirty, fun and incredibly spectacular Latin American dance which has its own character and striking energy. This dance is based on the imitation of Cuban steps to the side that are used in many other dances. But despite these basic steps, cha-cha-cha has a lot of peculiarities making this dance unique and different from other ballroom Latin American dances. This dance took its name from the sounds produced by the dancers making a triple step.
The cha-cha-cha creator is one of the most talented Cuban composers Enrique Jorrin. He wanted to create a special middle rhythm which will be easy to remember, recognize and to dance to as well. After a lot of experiments, Enrique Jorrin created neodanson. His next creation from which cha-cha-cha came was called Mambo-rumba. Its tempo was a bit slower than today’s cha-cha-cha. Over the years, it was becoming faster and now it is an independent, absolutely different from rumba dance.
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