Globalization: Zumba in China
I have always been a dancer whether in a class or on a field or in a club or at a wedding or in my living room with my three sons; it all has depended on my life stage and location. So now that I am beyond the clubbing age (not that I was much of one to go clubbing, but I certainly enjoyed tropical dancing at salsa clubs during my two years of grad school in Mexico!), how do I get my dancing fix? Sometimes my latin-blooded husband will graciously dance with me at home after the kids go to bed, which makes me muy contenta (very happy). But in between those twice a year occurrences, I have discovered that I can go tropical dancing at least every Wednesday night at the fitness club that is a 15 minute bike ride away. Because there is Zumba in Wuhan, China.
Zumba in China is one of the many unexpected pleasantries of globalization. Companies can have their products designed, produced, and marketed in multiple countries across the world because of the internet, large pools of cheap labor, and global marketing and transport. Zumba, created by a Columbian, is now in 185 countries and is easy to market because its music and videos can be accessed online by any instructor. Their products, like shoes and clothing, are probably manufactured in China, the workshop of the world. And so here I am, following a young Chinese man dressed in a chartreuse muscle shirt that says “Salsation” on the back, and who has baggy black parachute pants with one pant leg up to his knee like he is a hip hop dancer. He teaches us salsa, merengue, and a little reggaeton. Que chevere (how cool). Check out this video:
Did you see the cute non-Asian lady waving? That is my French friend with whom I speak Spanish. She is also a mom, and in class she sings along to the Spanish lyrics of songs in our Zumba class that we each danced to in our college years on different continents. Now both of us are in Asia dancing along in a class filled with mostly Chinese women. This is globalization.

Zumba in China is one of the many unexpected pleasantries of globalization. Companies can have their products designed, produced, and marketed in multiple countries across the world because of the internet, large pools of cheap labor, and global marketing and transport. Zumba, created by a Columbian, is now in 185 countries and is easy to market because its music and videos can be accessed online by any instructor. Their products, like shoes and clothing, are probably manufactured in China, the workshop of the world. And so here I am, following a young Chinese man dressed in a chartreuse muscle shirt that says “Salsation” on the back, and who has baggy black parachute pants with one pant leg up to his knee like he is a hip hop dancer. He teaches us salsa, merengue, and a little reggaeton. Que chevere (how cool). Check out this video:
Did you see the cute non-Asian lady waving? That is my French friend with whom I speak Spanish. She is also a mom, and in class she sings along to the Spanish lyrics of songs in our Zumba class that we each danced to in our college years on different continents. Now both of us are in Asia dancing along in a class filled with mostly Chinese women. This is globalization.
