Cuban culture encompasses a wide range of dance forms. The island's indigenous peoples performed rituals known as
areíto, which included dancing, although little information is known about such ceremonies. After the colonization of Cuba by the Spanish Kingdom, European dance forms were introduced such as the French
contredanse, which gave rise to the Cuban
contradanza. Contradanza itself spawned a series of ballroom dances between the 19th and 20th centuries, including the
danzón,
mambo and
cha-cha-cha. Rural dances of European origin, such as the zapateo and styles associated with
punto guajiro also became established by the 19th century, and in the 20th century
son became very popular. In addition, numerous dance traditions were brought by black slaves from
West Africa and the
Congo basin, giving rise to religious dances such as
Santería,
yuka and
abakuá, as well as secular forms such as
rumba. Cuban music also contributed to the emergence of Latin dance styles in the
United States, namely
rhumba (ballroom rumba) and
salsa.