California ballroom studio saved from Monterey Park mass shooter to host AAPI community dance
By Carl Samson
May 16, 2023
A ballroom studio in Alhambra, California, that was saved from what could have been a mass shooting after the January massacre in Monterey Park will host a community dance in celebration of AAPI Heritage Month.
The event at Lai Lai Ballroom and Studio, which will take place on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., is organized by the Southern California chapter of Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AJSOCAL), which will also commemorate its 40th anniversary.
We join the residents of Monterey Park and Alhambra for celebration and healing in the wake of the Lunar New Year tragedy — to show the world that we are proud of all of our Asian ancestries, languages and current experiences as Americans. A Community Dance will be an afternoon of joy and we encourage all community residents, AAPIs, allies, family and friends to be there in solidarity.
Lai Lai Ballroom is located at 121 S. Garfield Ave., about two miles north of Monterey Park’s Star Ballroom Dance Studio where 11 people died from the mass shooting on the night of Jan. 21.
The gunman, 72-year-old Huu Can Tran, arrived at Lai Lai Ballroom 20 minutes after carrying out the attack.
But in a heroic act caught on video, Lai Lai Ballroom’s third-generation operator, Brandon Tsay, quickly disarmed Tran and thwarted a potential massacre. Tran would be found dead from an apparent suicide hours later, while Tsay would go on to be recognized as a hero by local, state and national leaders.
Lai Lai Ballroom was opened in 1992 by Tsay’s paternal grandmother, Eng Chen Tsay, after he moved to the U.S. from Taiwan.
Tsay’s mother, Yvonne Hwei Fung Lin, managed the studio and worked in the front office. Meanwhile, Tsay’s sister, Brenda, has been described along with Tsay as “fixtures” at the family business.
Tsay and Brenda will be co-hosting the community dance.
The event, which will offer food, music and dancing, is free of charge.
“After this tragedy, we want to make this about bringing people back together,” Brenda said. “To seize opportunity and bring joy back to the dance world and maybe even those people who are not familiar with dancing.”
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