Last Saturday morning faculty member Diana Nicastro, invited Dads to attend the Creative Dance classes in honor of Fathers Day 2010! The turnout exceeded our expectations. One enthusiastic Dad said "We had fun."
Here is the evidence
Our creative dance classes are offered for children ages 3-6 every Saturday morning at Dance Place San Diego in Point Loma. Bring your child and begin this process of self-discovery and fun! Details about all of our classes, tuition, and registration are available at www.MalashockDance.org/the-school
San Diego is rich in the arts but not many people know about what is going on or where to find it. Malashock Dance and Voice of San Diego have teamed up to give the arts, Dance in particular, a stronger voice to be heard. We have created a new blog called ‘Dance About Diego’ which intends to begin to inform both visitors and locals about dance activity and give insight as to what it is like to work in the Dance industry in San Diego. Check out our first blog entry at Voice of San Diego and look out for new entries to come.
I have no rhythm. I trip over myself simply walking down the street. I am nowhere near what one would consider as a dancer. Despite all these, I am a major proponent of highlighting the importance of the arts in the community and making them accessible to anyone. I have always been more artistically inclined, but I’ve never been sure how to apply it to a legitimate career. As part of my high school’s academic internship program, I am given the chance to see exactly how both are achieved in the professional world.
After only a week as an intern at Malashock Dance, I am already amazed by how much is involved in keeping Malashock Dance running. As expected, running a non-profit organization is not easy, but the level of involvement from all facets of it is daunting, yet motivating. Not yet out of high school, it is really interesting to see what I can possibly achieve in later years. Being surrounded by the staff of Malashock Dance also helps me set my ever-changing standards for myself as well. After my three weeks with Malashock Dance, I hope to have more insight into what goes into running an art-oriented organization - even the more administrative side of running the company - so I have a little more direction when I choose a college/career path. The skills I take away from this experience can also be applied to the leadership positions I take on in and out of school. I want to know what makes the company more productive, and what holds it back, along with what steps are involved in hosting a major event like a fundraiser or dance performance. Above all, I look forward to learning from the staff at Malashock Dance and hopefully leaving a little more savvy than I was before.
Yesterday, we had the pleasure of presenting a lecture demonstration with the San Diego School for Creative and Performing Arts. Students from SCPA and COSA performed an excerpt of Missa Brevis , a piece choreographed by José Limon. Francisco Ruvalcaba, a San Diego native and principal dancer for the Limon Dance Company, has been working with the students and also presented a lecture for the audience.
Congratulations to everyone involved! The students have been working incredibly hard, and they looked amazing. We will be excited to welcome some of them back to our studio for our upcoming Master Class Series and our Summer Intensive!
We can’t share the entire performance, due to copyright issues, but we have been given permission to share the following clip from yesterday’s event. Enjoy!
Save the date for the third master class in the 4 Sundays in February Master Class Series ! In this exciting series of master classes, Malashock Dance proudly presents four Master Teachers/Choreographers from Los Angeles, Orange County, Long Beach, and San Diego. Each Sunday in February, experience the innovative techniques and powerful repertory of Method Contemporary Dance, Backhausdance, Keith Johnson/Dancers, and Malashock Dance.
Location: Malashock Dance
Dance Place San Diego
2650 Truxtun Road, Studio 200
San Diego, CA 92106
Class Fee: $20; BUY 3 CLASSES, GET THE 4TH ONE FREE!
Sign up now!
Jennifer Backhaus’ master classes are representative of the movement style and vocabulary of her professional contemporary dance company, Backhausdance. Ms. Backhaus’ classes are crafted to give dancers the technical ability to find balance between control and release. The combination of ballet technique and modern dance principals, such as the use of weight and momentum, create exercises that are designed to challenge the dancer’s dynamic expression and increase their range of movement and quality. Ms. Backhaus places strong emphasis on the use of space and moving with fluidity and abandon. Her gymnastic background enables the seamless integration of floor work and weight-shifting between feet and hands, encouraging students to feel comfortable with inversions. Class combinations occasionally include selections from the Backhausdance repertory, partnering work and focus on the facilitation of the expression of the dancer’s unique points of view.
Malashock Dance and the San Diego School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) present a Lecture Demonstration:
José Limón, The Artist as Outsider
Reflections of his Life and Work
Sunday, January 31, 2010 • 6 pm
Dance Place San Diego
2650 Truxtun Road, Studio 200
San Diego, CA 92106
Tickets: $10 ($5 students)
Featuring dance excerpts from Missa Brevis , choreographed by Jose Limon, performed by the dancers of SCPA and COSA. Lecture and Q&A by Francisco Ruvalcaba, principal dancer with Limon Dance Company.
Francisco Ruvalcaba
Principal Dancer, Limon Dance Company
Free Day of Dance 2009 was a blast! We had over 150 students in Malashock Dance’s classes, and San Diego Dance Theater and San Diego Ballet had full classes, too. It gives a whole new meaning to the word "turnout"! (If you are groaning at that joke, you can thank Molly, our Education Director. She thought up that gem!)
Michael Mizerany, Associate Artistic Director at Malashock Dance, had 65 students in his class! Check out these video clips from Saturday:
Michael will be teaching Company Class this semester at the Malashock Dance School. Company Class is open to the public every Tuesday and Thursday, 10-11:30 a.m., starting January 12. It is the perfect class for an advanced or professional dancer looking for a challenge. I have taken Michael’s classes, and they are definitely a challenge—but they are fun, too! Michael is a very dynamic and encouraging teacher.
If you missed the Free Day of Dance, mark your calendar now for next year—December 26, 2010! And check out our classes for Winter Semester at the Malashock Dance School, starting January 11, 2010 . Download the brochure (pdf) or sign up now!
Congratulations to all of the Malashock Dance School students who performed in the Winter Showcase this weekend! We enjoyed the choreography of Malashock Dance School faculty John Malashock, Molly Puryear, Erica Buechner, Matt Carney, Julianne O’Brien Pedersen, and Jaami Waali. Congrats to all of them, as well as faculty members Katie Griffin and Diana Nicastro, for a great semester of dance classes!
Take a look at a slideshow of photos from the Malashock Dance School Winter Showcase here:
Associate Artistic Director Michael Mizerany shares what it is like once the curtains have closed on a show—and what he does with the rest of his time.
What was the best part of seeing your choreography on stage?
Seeing WAYWARD GLANCES come together as a dance piece, as an idea. Also, seeing the audience react the way I wanted them to react—you never know how the audience will respond to a dance piece!
What do you like most about SURFACE TENSION being over?
I don’t have to stress anymore about my first time premiering a work with Malashock Dance! And I don’t have to worry about compartmentalizing. It was hard to dance in two pieces plus be the choreographer for another.
What do you like least about SURFACE TENSION being over?
Now I have to go back to the day-to-day work of running the company: booking tour dates, talking with presenters, making sure the information on our website is up to date.
What is going on now that SURFACE TENSION has ended?
Our performance for Classics 4 Kids is coming up in just three weeks—It’s never over! I am also back to the administrative side of my job.
Check out EVERYBODY WANTS YOU , an excerpt from the Malashock Dance performance of Michael Mizerany’s WAYWARD GLANCES :
José Limón, The Artist as Outsider
