John Malashock often collaborates with artists and musicians to create vivid dances. Two large projects - The Floating World with video artist Tara Knight and Chagall with musician Yael Strom - are in process now.

To create Malashock RAW, on view at Sushi this weekend, one might guess he collaborates with wrestlers and football players too.

Dancers slam into each other and crash onto the floor. Women appear as tough guys. If you sit in the front row, the fearless Christine Marshall may end up in your lap. She spends half the program flying through the air.

Bradley R. Lundberg throws Nicholas Strasburg

in the Cage Match section of Bad Company.

Photo: Yvonne Porta

Malashock RAW features two premieres, one by Malashock, the other by Michael Mizerany, assistant artistic director of Malashock Dance. But here's the twist: The company, now twenty-two, is working with a guest choreographer for the first time, Bradley Michaud of Method Contemporary Dance in Los Angeles.

Christine Marshall and Nicholas Strasburg in This

Is Not An Exit. Photo: Yvonne Porta

Michaud's This is not an Exit sets a gritty knock-down tone that continues throughout the program. The work earned a 2009 Horton Award, and it's easy to see why. Shadows and mesmerizing repetition draw you in. They are soon replaced with disturbing gestures and conflicts. Dancers look like normal folks, but suddenly move like Olympian athletes. Fists jam into gaping mouths, and bodies writhe on the floor as if possessed by demons.

Malashock's premiere of Man Up! makes fun of men who behave badly and dress in dreadful sports jerseys and shorts. If you have poor vision, it's possible you won't realize the men are actually attractive women. Bouncy, thick-legged, and totally undateable, a pack of them drool over a dreamy redhead. They don't have beards, but they nail the guy transformation. "I'm so hot" expressions are hilarious, and they never fall out of character, which is a bit creepy to watch.

All three dances are wildly athletic, and Mizerany's premiere of Bad Company pushes physical boundaries for the dancers. A satirical look at judgment and distain, wild slides and tosses accelerate to warp speed in this exciting work, especially for the airborne dancer Marshall.

Five dancers frantically arrange cubes which transcends to controlling one's tiny little world. Bradley R. Lundberg and Nicholas Strasburg strip down to trunks and wrestle like pros. Snaps of the head and cold stares are reminders that everyone judges.

Mizerany uses the venue to his advantage. A memorable image is simply a line of dancers in front of pipes labeled "hot water supply." Multiple layers of action are connected, such as two in combat in the background, and three up close, and aerial stunts are breathtaking.

RAW is not a typical Malashock show. Those expecting the troupe's signature prettiness, liquid arms, and colorful sets will be shocked and energized in a very good way. With one intermission, it moves quickly, and the stripped-down style is well suited to the gray, industrial space. Get there early and you'll be just inches away from the action. Arrive late and you may have to stand. There's also an intriguing art installation in the lobby.

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