Who invented the cha-cha dance, and in what year?

SOTHC

In the Islands of the West Indies, there are certain plants that produce seedpods known as cha-cha. These are used to make a small rattle also known as cha-cha. In Haiti the typical voodoo band consists of three drums, a bell, and a cha-cha. The cha-cha is used by the leader as a guide instrument or "metronome" to set the time in secular dancing as well as in religious music and singing. Thus the dance Cha Cha had its roots in the religious ritual dances of the West Indies. Cha Cha is derived from two other dances, it is a derivative of the Mambo (Mambo is the name of a voodoo priestess) through its Latin music and it is also a stepchild of Swing (Lindy, as it is danced with a triple step and a break). The dance came about in the early 1950's and took America by storm in 1954 thhttp://home.att.net/~kellens/feb00.html Mar 31 05, 3:10 PM

MrsAce

In 1951, Cuban composer and violinist Enrique Jorrín introduced the cha-cha-cha rhythms under this name to Cuban dance floors while playing with Orquestra America. Some say that he came to this idea as early as in 1948 while being with Antonio Arcaño's orchestra. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cha_cha Mar 31 05, 3:24 PM