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Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
National
Matt Pearce and August Brown

For older Asian American immigrants, ballroom dancing was supposed to be a safe haven

LOS ANGELES — When a gunman fatally shot 11 people and wounded nine others in Monterey Park over the weekend, it was more than just the latest tragedy in America’s horrific mass-shooting epidemic.

The gunman attacked the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, one of the best-known hubs of the vibrant Asian American ballroom dance community in Southern California — a longtime safe haven for older immigrants, the kind of place where they knew they would be welcomed.

“In Asia, ballroom is an incredibly popular sport and social dance,” said Marisa Hamamoto, a professional ballroom and salsa dancer in L.A. who had been to Star on occasion.

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