San Gabriel Valley : Getting Back Into the Swing of Things

It has been two decades since anyone opened a place for waltzing, electric sliding or lambadaing in South El Monte, but now the same body that once outlawed dance halls is swinging support behind them.

The city imposed a ban on the establishments in the 1970s after the halls became backdrops for violence, city officials said.

“Over time, they became a problem, with lots of police calls for fights and even assaults with a deadly weapon,” said Assistant City Manager Steve Henley. “So the council put a restriction on public dance facilities that weren’t restaurants.”

Now, however, a proposal for a combined dance studio and ballroom called Dream World is changing a new council’s mind on the old measure. At its Sept. 14 meeting, the council is expected to vote in favor of allowing that business--and others like it--to operate.

Owners Mr. and Mrs. Danny Ng hope to have people dancing the night away on the second floor of a building at 9251 Garvey Ave. by early next year.

The Ngs, though, will not have exclusive reign over the twirling masses.

Las Cuevas, also on Garvey, opened before the city was incorporated in 1958, Henley said, and so was exempted from the ban.