CHA-CHA

also spelled Cha Cha, also called Cha-cha-cha, Chachach, or Cha Cha Cha, a fast rhythmic ballroom dance derived from the Latin-American mambo and having a basic pattern of three steps and a shuffle, with a rocking of the hips. (Musically it consists of two quarter notes, three eight notes, and an eighth rest.) The cha-cha was invented about 1948 by the Cuban violinist (later band leader) Enrique Jorrn and, after being recorded in 1953, became a craze in the Americas and Europe. Bands or orchestras specializing in the cha-cha and related music were called charangas. One of the most popular renditions was the Tommy Dorsey orchestra's Tea for Two Cha-Cha (1958).