Today we’d like to introduce you to Thom Dancy.
Thom, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I currently work as both the Outreach/Communications Coordinator and as a dancer for Malashock Dance Company, San Diego’s premiere modern dance company. I moved to San Diego a little less than a year ago after working professionally as a dancer for various companies in the Midwest for close to a decade. I danced with Milwaukee Ballet, Grand Rapids Ballet, The Big Muddy Dance Company, and even did some work in Equity Musical Theater with The Muny, one of the nation’s most reputable Equity theaters. I’ve worked as an audition assistant, independent choreographer and master dance teacher across the united states. Now, that I’ve moved to San Diego, I am branching off into more of the administrative side of helping run a dance company, while maintaining some time in the studio with Malashock Dance and the occasional helping hand with emerging choreographer Kevin Jenkins as he flies back to San Diego to workshop choreography for his various commissions. I recently joined Rising Arts Leaders of San Diego as both a steering committee member and as their Communications Chair, and I find myself offering a lot of advice on social media advocacy to multiple non-profits and boards across the San Diego region. As a dancer, I developed a skill for marketing that I now use fervently in my new title.
I started dancing at 20 in New York City. I fell in love with it after my first class, and I have spent my entire adult life devoted to dance. This passion drives me from the second I wake up to the moment I fall asleep and I feel blessed to have shaped my young adulthood through its pursuit. A couple years back, I discovered that this passion extends beyond the dance studio: I started helping with Grants (I was a part of the team that won Joshua Manculich the Princess Grace Award in 2015), curating the social media for companies I danced for, and worked to create partnerships with various institutions (my last gesture leaving Big Muddy was creating the first collaboration between Big Muddy and Webster University’s department of dance).
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has not. I think achieving success involves a lot of bumps along the way, even though the outside eye sees only the end result. I’ve had to move cities, self-examine, fail miserably and try again. Even in starting dancing, I had to deal with most people around me telling me that it was an impossible task. I learned quickly to think big picture about life: that it’s not about the current moment, but always about the next step and the step after that leading to your eventual goal. I developed a thick skin and an ability to think very independently of status-quo. My trailblazing nature is something I now sometimes have to tone down for the sake of my team being able to accomplish goals, but I value the ability to be creative in extreme circumstances that my past has given me. At the end of the day, my biggest accomplishments have come from thinking outside of the box.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Malashock Dance Company – what should we know?
Malashock Dance Company was founded in 1988 by John Malashock after his retirement from dancing with world-renowned modern dance companies in New York. The company has grown in 30 years to a beacon of dance in the San Diego community, offering professional performances, outreach education, and a myriad of open dance classes for students ages 2-102. My main job as Outreach and Communications Coordinator covers all of those brackets. I work to ensure that quality programming in dance is being sent to schools and organizations across San Diego County and that our social media feeds are filled with imagery that showcases exactly what our company is: an epicenter of great dance for the region.
I’m most proud of the talent that fills my office on the day-to-day. I think having a respect for what your bosses bring to the table is important for a healthy workplace setting. John brings this level of professional experience and a resume (the man has 6 Emmy awards!) that is astounding. In Molly, my executive director, I see an intelligent, business-savvy woman who I look to for mentorship as I pursue work behind the scenes. For a lot of people this probably sounds silly to focus on my employers like this but, because my passion is tied so intimately to my work, it is important for me to be genuinely motivated by those above me. I’m #blessed.
I think the quality of what we do sets us apart. I’m a perfectionist by nature, and so are John and Molly. I think that push for excellence is showcased in what is coming out of Malashock Dance.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My parents deserve a lot of credit. We are a middle-class family from North Carolina. My Dad and Mom, a building contractor and a teacher, never questioned my desires to step into the arts, even though it was something very foreign to them. They’ve never lived outside of North Carolina but pushed me to move 2000 miles away for the sake of passion. They are always an encouraging voice over the phone, a shoulder to cry on, and my biggest fans when they see a show. They always encouraged creative thinking and to challenge set procedure, which I think, for my mother, is a product of her being a teacher.
Pricing:
- Dance Classes at Malashock Dance! : $15 drop-in rate. Class cards available on our website!
Contact Info:
- Address: 2650 Truxtun Rd Ste. 104, San Diego, CA 92106
- Website: www.MalashockDance.org
- Phone: 619-260-1622
- Email: thom@malashockdance.org
- Instagram: MalashockDance
- Facebook: Malashock Dance
- Twitter: MalashockDance
Image Credit:
Gary Payne, Gerry Love, John Magana
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