Malashock/Raw was such a sellout hit last November at Sushi Performance and Visual Art that Malashock Dance is reprising the evening of dance at 8 p.m. Jan. 21-22, this time within the intimacy of Malashock Dance Studio at Dance Place San Diego, 2650 Truxtun Road, Suite 202, at Liberty Station. Closer up and more personal, it is bound to be more thrilling and in-your-face than ever before. In the company vernacular it will shock, astonish and amaze. Ask one who’s seen it, and the description possesses a ring of truth. By its very nature, the distilled “Malashock/Raw: Stripped” seeks to dispel any preconceptions one might have of esteemed choreographer and artistic director John Malashock and his excellent 23-year-old troupe. A La Jolla native who danced with Twyla Tharp Dance, Malashock toured 10 years before returning to the San Diego area. (He and his wife, Nina, had a child by then, and believed that a more “normal life” awaited them in California.) Malashock tried business for a while, but dance called him back big-time in 1988 with the founding of Malashock Dance. “There was not much choice in the matter,” he said with a smile. The Los Angeles Times recently named Malashock a “2011 Face to Watch.” The three pieces composing “Malashock/Raw: Stripped” are as follows: Malashock’s “Man Up,” associate artistic director Michael Mizerany’s “Bad Company” and guest choreographer Bradley Michaud’s “This Is Not an Exit.” Michaud is artistic director of Method Contemporary Dance in Los Angeles. Michaud’s 2009 “This Is Not an Exit” begins with six dancers performing ritual movements that seem to promote balance and coordination (music by Trentmoller). One by one, they are afflicted by an indescribable malady, and chaos ensues with such violence that one finds oneself looking for blood. It’s the most astonishing — both wonderful and terrible — thing I have ever seen in a dance piece. Malashock’s “Man Up” provides great levity as well as profound insight into our ideas of what’s masculine behavior and what is feminine. A motley basketball team (females with names like Chip, Jeff and Rico) adopts male behavior, including crotch-grabbing, posturing and ploys to seduce a “real” female who appears. If you haven’t obtained tickets yet, do not hesitate or you might be turned away. “Malashock/Raw: Stripped” promises to be one of the most exciting evenings of dance in a long time. Tickets are $15 and available at www.malashockdance.org or (619) 260-1622.
