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The Joy And Connection Of Ballroom Dance Will Outlast The Monterey Park Shooting

“Anyone is welcome to go into those ballrooms and they can feel at home there," said George Uba, a Cal State Northridge professor emeritus and recreational ballroom dancer. He's written about how the Asian American Pacific Islander community has transformed what can be perceived as a hobby of the European upper class. -- LAist

Best Things To Do This Week in Los Angeles And SoCal: Jan. 30 - Feb. 2

Jazz at Naz Festival Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts (The Soraya) 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge Eight-time Grammy winner Christian McBride’s “The Movement Revisited” kicks off the Jazz at Naz series with an aural tribute to Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X and Barack Obama. Other performers in the festival are: Samara Joy with Clayton Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Loudon Wainwright III and Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks, Melissa Aldana and her Quartet and Joel Ross. COST: Individual tickets start at $36; MORE INFO -- LAist

Religion events in the San Fernando Valley area, Jan. 28-Feb. 4

Food drive for CSUN Food Pantry: The Community Concerns Committee at First Presbyterian Church of Granada Hills holds a non-perishable food drive to help stock the food pantry at Cal State University, Northridge, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., and also, 8:30-11:30 a.m. Feb. 12. The pantry benefits students who do not have much income for food while school is in session. Current needs: canned soups and other canned goods, pasta and dry boxed goods; also, hygiene items including deodorant, soap, feminine products and shampoos. No glass containers or past date items. Drive-thru and a church volunteer will unload your donation. Location, 10400 Zelzah Ave., Northridge. 818-360-1831. www.fpcgh.org/outreach. Details and current needs for the CSUN Food Pantry here: bit.ly/3ch6IRl and here: bit.ly/3TeJiNe -- Los Angeles Daily News

Community meetings in the San Fernando Valley area, Jan. 30-Feb. 6

California State University, Northridge’s VITA Clinic Income Tax Preparation: Appointments required for the free sessions, 2-6 p.m., and every Thursday through April 13. Check the website link for details on what you need to bring to an appointment and also the link to make an appointment. Sun Valley Branch Library, 7935 Vineland Ave. 818-764-1338. Details and reservations: bit.ly/3kNvwEu -- Los Angeles Daily News

How Ballroom Dance Became a 'Social Safe Space' for Asian American Elders

When George R. Uba heard the news about the devastating mass shooting at Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, Calif., on Jan. 21, he was stunned by the knowledge that such violence could occur in a place he holds dear. For over three decades, Uba, a retired professor of English and Asian American studies at California State University, Northridge, has been a regular at Star, like many other senior citizens in the area. He started with ballroom dancing lessons, then later began attending dance socials on Saturday nights with his wife. Uba describes the studio as a gathering space for Monterey Park’s Asian American and Pacific Islander community as much as it is a place to practice the foxtrot. -- Time Magazine

Our Authors Study Club Hosts City-Wide African American Heritage Month Events

The celebration opens Thursday, February 2, at 6:30 p.m., with the Annual Round Table hosted by Marc Brown, Eyewitness News, KABC7. The virtual discussion features Dr. Maulana Karenga, chair of Africana Studies at CSU-Long Beach; Dr. Julianne Malveaux, dean of the College of Ethnic Studies at CSU-Los Angeles; Dr. Donna Nicol, chair of Africana Studies at CSU-Domiguez Hills; Dr. Boris Ricks, director of the Center for Southern California Studies at CSU-Northridge; and Dr. Francille Rusan Wilson, professor of American Studies & Ethnicity, History, Gender & Sexuality Studies at USC. -- The Los Angeles Sentinel

Things to do in the San Fernando Valley and LA area, Jan. 26-Feb. 2

The Soraya: Pianist Hélène Grimaud performs music by Mozart and Ukrainian composer Valentyn Silvestrov, 8 p.m. Jan. 26. Tickets $42 and up (use promotional code NEWYEAR). The Soraya at CSUN, 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge. 818-677-3000. helenegrimaud.com. www.thesoraya.org -- Los Angeles Daily News

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