Malashock Dance Announces World Premiere of THE BRIDGE

The production will be held at a new, outdoor performance venue at ARTS DISTRICT: Liberty Station, and will be featured as part of the DANCE IS IN THE AIR Festival. The festival is being produced jointly by Malashock Dance, San Diego Ballet, and San Diego Dance Theater which started on May 21 and will continue until June 19

Malashock Dance proudly announces the World Premiere, live performances of THE BRIDGE, a vibrant new collaboration between Artistic Director, John Malashock and Choreographer, Tristian Griffin (Artistic Director of Tristian Griffin Dance Company in Kansas City, MO). Shows will take place May 27 –30, 2021.

Malashock Dance Announces World Premiere of THE BRIDGE. Photo: Courtesy

Malashock and Griffin have worked collaboratively over the past year on the concept and creation of THE BRIDGE, which will be set on members of both Malashock Dance and Tristian Griffin Dance Company. The two choreographers will interweave their contrasting experiences, perspectives, and movement styles to form a cohesive artistic narrative to original music by composer, Philip Daniel.

Thematically, THE BRIDGE mirrors issues that are current to our highly-polarized world. Starkly contrasting life stages and political perspectives separate the dancers into groups, whose characters must face what lies between them. These characters must confront themselves, in an effort to balance their need to be heard, but also to understand differing points of view. As THE BRIDGE unfolds, so will the groups’ decisions whether to pull together, or draw further apart. Will they find a way across their deep divides, or remain forever on opposite shores? Will they be able to let their differences become water under the bridge? 

“Tristian is a great young choreographic talent and a wonderful collaborator,” says Malashock. “Our styles and experiences contrast but complement each others. He is young, I am ‘seasoned’; he is Black, I am white; he is honing his artistic voice, I am seeking new ways of using mine. THE BRIDGE is going to be a powerful, moving, yet entertaining work.”

Says Griffin, “I am SO excited to be collaborating with someone as established and successful as John Malashock/Malashock Dance Co. THE BRIDGE features our voices individually but also merges them together and reveals something that John and I discovered during this process. The ‘WHATs’ in our differences become smaller once we understand the ‘WHYs.’

THE BRIDGE will mark the first live performances by Malashock Dance in well over a year. The outdoor stage will be located on the South Promenade courtyard of Liberty Station and audiences will be configured to meet Covid safety guidelines. There will be seating and ample free parking for these shows.

For more information about THE BRIDGE, go to www.malashockdance.org/thebridge

SHOW DATES, TIMES, LOCATION:

May 27 – 30, 2021 all shows at 6:30 pm

Location: Outdoor stage venue in South Promenade of LIBERTY STATION

For tickets, go to https://www.sdartstix.com/