Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 26th, as our biggest fundraiser of the year, Malashock Thinks You Can Dance, is back for its third annual installment at Qualcomm Hall!

As we here at Malashock prepare to enter our 22nd season of dance, our yearly fundraiser is just as important as ever. While we continue to educate dancers of all ages and all talent levels, and produce consistently outstanding-quality performances, this event serves the essential purpose of raising funds for Malashock’s education and outreach programs initiated by the Malashock School and the Malashock Company.
We’re pleased to have Dea Hurston on board as the event Chair (with Honorary Chairs), and on top of that to have actor Phil Johnson serving as emcee for the evening.

Part-Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance, and Part-ABC’s Dancing With the Stars, this evening of friendly competition partners local celebrities and professional dancers in an all-out dance-off showcasing two months of dedicated preparation.
Our 2009 line-up of celebrity contests are [listed with partners]:
Edgar Bonner, Eye Exclusive with Cristina Santana
Gail Bryan, Museum of Photographic Arts with Dan Gibbons
Mitchell Dubick, Higgs, Fletcher & Mack with Stephanie Olsen
Kristy Gregg, San Diego National Bank with Pepe Alvarez
Thomas Karlo, KPBS TV/FM with Irina Chalkevitch
Dr. Michael Levy, Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery, UCSD with Vanessa Williams
Anita Norton, Sycuan Casino with Tyler Ryan-Allen
Chairman Tucker, Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation with Miki Jennings
Delicia Turner Sonnenberg, MOXIE Theatre with John Selby
Lydia McNeil, Las Patronas with Steve Showers

Additionally, adding fun to the night are our 2009 celebrity judges:
Dea Hurston, Commissioner, City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture
Jeffrey Dunigan, Financial Advisor, Smith Barney
Monique Marvez, Radio Personality, Jack-FM

Excerpts from last year’s show are online through Malashock Dance’s YouTube channel.

Tickets are available through Malashock Dance’s website, or by calling (619)260-1622, with prices ranging from $35-$150. Or, make a donation.

After a nation-wide search to ensure the best possible candidate for Executive Director – a position of the utmost importance for the continued and future successes of Malashock Dance – we’re proud to announce the appointment of an internal shining star, Paloma Patterson.  She comes into the vacancy with already more than nine years of non-profit experience, both domestically and across borders, and recently completed a Master’s Degree in Nonprofit Leadership & Management at the University of San Diego. Throughout the interview and vetting process became the clear favorite of the Board of Directors for their choice, and ultimately the most qualified and passionate candidate.

Paloma Patterson, newly appointed Executive Director of Malashock Dance.

Also worthy of due recognition are the James Irvine Foundation, the Parker Foundation, and Danah Fayman – without whose generosity this position would not have been possible to fund.  We are greatly appreciate their dedication to the arts, and are eternally grateful for their contribution to our cause.

Both a former dancer and instructor, prior to coming to San Diego Paloma spent five years with SPACE (School of Performing Arts and Cultural Education). She worked as Business & Marketing Director; Program Director for WAVE (Watch Anderson Valley Excel), a performing arts program at the elementary, junior and high school levels; and Creative Dance Instructor for 5 & 6 year-olds.

Recently, Paloma served as a grant panelist for the California Arts Council Artists in Schools Program in Sacramento, CA.  And, currently, she is a member of the San Diego Nonprofit Professionals Network, and spends time volunteering for the San Diego Foundation for Change and Border Encuentro.

All of us at Malashock eagerly await to see what Paloma – the 2003 California Big Sister of the Year for Big Brothers/Big Sisters – has in store for the vision of both the Company and the School.

To learn more, please visit our website at www.MalashockDance.org.