Life After Tharp

John Malashock used to be one of Twyla Tharp’s vagabonds, a dancer who spent up to 150 days on the road each year. But since 1984, Malashock has resettled in his native San Diego, founding a four-member company and establishing himself as a choreographer.

His 3-year-old Malashock Dance & Co. opens Thursday at the Lyceum Space in San Diego for four nights. The company is also set to perform in July at Dance Kaleidoscope in Los Angeles.

Malashock’s reasons for leaving Tharp were many. Married and the father of a 5-year-old boy, he found the touring stretches impossible and simply did not want to absent himself from the family.

“Also, I never really became comfortable with Tharp,” he says. “She’s not easy--probably no one as brilliant and strong-willed and driven as she is would be. By the end we were butting heads. I gained tremendously working with her, but there were these other voices inside, strong enough to dictate my decision to leave.

“Locating here (San Diego) was my contribution to decentralizing dance. I don’t believe New York should be the single focus. But what I hope to do with audiences, no matter where they are, is engage them on an interpersonal level. Surely all of us struggle with the relationships, our need for them and our difficulties in maintaining them.

“I still dance,” says Malashock, explaining that he is at full-performance tilt and, indeed, needs to express himself through movement. “As for my choreography, well, I never knew what ideas I had until starting to work quietly.

“I’m looking for a chance to work through personal issues,” he says. “My choreography comes from places within me. It’s sincere because I’m not afraid to confront the issues. I’m not afraid to admit, for example, my fear of just being in the world.”