Кубалық ча-ча-ча биінің тарихы мен мәдениеті

Dance of Cuban origin cha cha
the American song & line dance
the Finnish song for Eurovision Song Contest 2023 with same title

The cha cha cha (also called cha cha), is a dance of Cuban origin. It is danced to the music of the same name introduced by the Cuban composer and violinist Enrique Jorrin in the early 1950s. This rhythm was developed from the danzón mambo. The name of the dance is an onomatopoeia derived from the shuffling sound of the dancers' feet when they dance two consecutive quick steps that characterize the dance. In the early 1950s, Enrique Jorrín worked as a violinist and composer with the charanga group Orquesta América. The group performed at dance halls in Havana where they played danzón, danzonete, and danzon mambo for dance oriented crowds. Jorrín noticed that many of the dancers at these gigs had difficulty with the syncopated rhythms of the danzón mambo. To make his music more appealing to dancers, Jorrín began composing songs where the melody was marked strongly on the first downbeat and the rhythm was less syncopated. When Orquesta América performed these new compositions at the Silver Star Club in Havana, it was noticed that the dancers had improvised a triple step in their footwork producing the sound "cha cha cha". Thus, the new style came to be known as "cha cha chá" and became associated with a dance where dancers perform a triple step. The basic footwork pattern of cha cha cha (one, two, three, cha cha one, two, three) is also found in several Afro Cuban dances from the Santería religion. For example, one of the steps used in the dance practiced by the Orisha Ogun religious features an identical pattern of footwork. These Afro Cuban dances predate the development of cha cha cha and were known by many Cubans in the 1950s, especially those of African origin. Thus, the footwork of the cha cha cha was likely inspired by these Afro Cuban dances. In 1953, Orquesta América released two of Jorrin's compositions, "La Engañadora" and "Silver Star", on the Cuban record label Panart. These were the first cha cha cha compositions ever recorded. They immediately became hits in Havana, and other Cuban charanga orchestras quickly imitated this new style. Soon, there was a cha cha cha craze in Havana's dance halls, popularizing both the music and the associated dance. This craze soon spread to Mexico City, and by 1955, the music and dance of the cha cha cha had become popular in Latin America, the United States, and Western Europe, following in the footsteps of the mambo, which had been a worldwide craze a few years earlier.

Cha cha cha is danced to authentic Cuban music, although in ballroom competitions it is often danced to Latin pop or Latin rock. The music for the international ballroom cha cha cha is energetic and with a steady beat. The music may involve complex polyrhythms. Styles of cha cha cha dance may differ in the place of the chasse in the rhythmical structure. The original Cuban and the ballroom cha cha cha count is "one, two, three, cha cha", or "one, two, three, four and." An incorrect "street version" comes about because many social dancers count "one, two, cha cha cha" and thus shift the timing of the dance by a full beat of music. Note that the dance known as Salsa is the result of a similar timing shift of Mambo.

In the International School of Ballroom Dance, the basic pattern involves the lead taking a checked forward step with the left foot, retaining some weight on the right foot. The knee of the right leg must stay bent and close to the back of the left knee, the left leg having straightened just prior to receiving part weight. This step is taken on the second beat of the bar. Full weight is returned to the right leg on the second step (beat three). The fourth beat is split in two so the count of the next three steps is 4 and 1. These three steps constitute the cha cha chasse. A step to the side is taken with the left foot, the right foot is half closed towards the left foot (typically leaving both feet under the hips or perhaps closed together), and finally there is a last step to the left with the left foot. The length of the steps in the chasse depends very much on the effect the dancer is attempting to make. and developed in the 1960s by Walter Laird and other top competitors of the time. The basic steps taught to learners today are based on these accounts. In general, steps are kept compact and the dance is danced generally without any rise and fall; this is the modern ballroom technique of cha cha cha (and other Latin dances).