At 7:15 p.m. on a Tuesday, the parking lot at Salsa & Soul Dance Academy is full—not of club-goers, but of retirees, teenagers, and second-shift workers who have come to learn a dance that crossed three continents to find them. Inside Studio B, Marcela Ríos claps her hands twice and the recorded accordion of Los Ángeles Azules drops in. Twenty-four students, ranging from age 16 to 68, shift their weight in unison, heels first, then hips, the shuffle-step of Cumbia moving through the room like a long exhale.
This is Cumbia in Lower Lake City in 2024. And it is having a moment.
Why Cumbia? Why Now?
A year ago, only one studio in Lower Lake City offered dedicated Cumbia instruction. Today, four do, with at least three more incorporating Cumbia into broader Latin-dance curricula. Rumba Latina Dance Studio reports a 40% jump in enrollment since adding a second beginner class in January. The Dance Spot, which opened in 2019 with salsa and bachata only, added Cumbia to its roster last spring after students kept asking for it.
"Cumbia was always the request we couldn't fill," said Elena Voss, owner of The Dance Spot. "People would come in after family weddings or quinceañeras and say, 'I don't need salsa. I need to know how to do this at the party.'" Voss hired a instructor from Barranquilla, Colombia, in March. Her Thursday Cumbia sessions now have a waitlist.
The surge is part of a broader story. Lower Lake City's Latino population has grown steadily over the past decade, and with it, demand for cultural programming that extends beyond food festivals. But the dance's appeal is crossing borders. At Salsa & Soul, roughly half of Cumbia students identify as non-Latino, drawn by the dance's reputation as accessible, social, and forgiving to beginners.
"It's the only dance class where I didn't feel like I was ruining someone's date night," said Derek Oshiro, 34, a software developer who started at Salsa & Soul in February. "You can mess up the turn and nobody cares. You just keep shuffling."
Where to Take Cumbia in Lower Lake City
Rumba Latina Dance Studio 421 Pine Street Marcela Ríos teaches beginner Cumbia Tuesdays at 7 p.m. and an advanced footwork class Saturdays at 10 a.m. Drop-in rate is $15; a four-class pass runs $52. Ríos, who was born in Cartagena and trained in Cali-style Cumbia, emphasizes musicality over flash. "In Colombia, we say Cumbia is danced from the waist down and felt from the waist up," she said. "I try to teach both parts."
Salsa & Soul Dance Academy 1890 Commerce Boulevard Known for its family-friendly pricing and inclusive atmosphere, Salsa & Soul offers Cumbia on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m. Family packs (two adults, two children) are $35 per session; individual drop-ins are $12. The studio's "Cumbia & Community" model includes a 30-minute social practice after each class. Co-founder James Okonkwo added the format after noticing students were reluctant to leave. "They wanted to stay and talk," he said. "The dance was doing what it was supposed to do."
The Dance Spot 55 Harbor Lane Elena Voss's Thursday Cumbia classes at 7:30 p.m. blend traditional Colombian fundamentals with Mexican cumbia sonidera styling, reflecting the mixed backgrounds of her students. A single class is $18; monthly memberships with unlimited Latin classes are $110. The studio also hosts a free monthly tardeada—an afternoon social with DJed cumbia, tamales, and beginner-friendly dancing—on the last Sunday of each month.
More Than Steps: The History Behind the Dance
Cumbia emerged on Colombia's Caribbean coast in the 17th century, shaped by the encounters of enslaved Africans, Indigenous communities, and European colonizers. The dance's signature shuffle is widely understood to replicate the steps of chain-bound enslaved people, later transformed into celebration. The gaita flutes and tambores that drive traditional Cumbia carry those layered histories.
In Lower Lake City, that past is present in subtle ways. Ríos begins each semester with a 10-minute history lesson. Okonkwo keeps a map of Colombia's Caribbean coast on the studio wall. For many students, the context deepens the physical experience.
"I didn't expect to care about where it came from," said Priya Malhotra, 29
