John Malashock began his performing career with the Utah Repertory Dance Theatre, working with such distinguished choreographers as Lar Lubovitch, Anna Sokolow, Donald McKayle, and Jennifer Muller.  Afterward, he joined Twyla Tharp Dance, where he performed worldwide; was featured in numerous television specials (Dance in America, The Catherine Wheel, Twyla Tharp Scrapbook); appeared in the Academy Award winning Film Amadeus, and performed in benefit concerts with Baryshnikov and Cynthia Gregory.
 
Malashock founded Malashock Dance in 1988, where he has created over 70 original choreographic works. Malashock’s productions have earned top awards in San Diego among the dance and theater communities, including the San Diego Dance Alliance's Tommy Award for Outstanding Overall Production and the KPBS Patte Award for Outstanding Theatre. He has garnered five Emmy Awards for his dance films with KPBS-TV and UCSD-TV (Love & Murder, The Soul of Saturday Night, Apologies from the Lower Deck, The Gypsy’s Wife, and The Floating World), which have screened at various film festivals and aired on public television stations across the country. 

Malashock has been invited to collaborate with major arts organizations, including San Diego Opera, San Diego Symphony, KPBS-TV, San Diego Museum of Art, La Jolla Playhouse, Old Globe Theatre, Museum of Photographic Arts, La Jolla Music Society, Mainly Mozart Festival, and opera companies across the country including New York City Opera, Washington National Opera, and San Francisco Opera.

A respected teacher and leader within the dance community, Malashock has served as a faculty member at the American Dance Festival, California State University Long Beach, and has taught throughout Europe, Asia, and Central America.  Malashock is also a fellow and affiliate artist of the Los Angeles and Israel based Center for Jewish Culture and Creativity. Currently, he is an Artist in Residence at La Jolla Playhouse, where he is developing a dance musical based on the life, work, and relationships of artist Marc Chagall.
 
Malashock took a leadership role in the development of Dance Place San Diego, housed in a beautifully renovated historic building in Point Loma’s Liberty Station (the former Navel Training Center). This facility, which serves the entire dance community, became the Company’s new home in December 2006 and enabled the founding of The Malashock Dance School. The establishment of the School complements the Company’s performance activities and greatly expands the Company’s reach and connection to the community through a comprehensive array of year-round classes, workshops and education outreach activities for children, teens, adults, and professional dancers of all abilities that are designed to make the experience of dance creative, meaningful, and fun.

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