10 Hairy Legs Welcomes 2 New Company Members

10 Hairy Legs, the all-male repertory dance company is pleased to announce that Nikolas Owens and Michael Wang are members of 10 Hairy Legs, effective immediately. They join current company members Alex Biegelson, Robert Mark Burke, Derek Crescenti, Jared McAboy, Alexander Olivieri, Nicholas Sciscione and William Tomaskovic. Company member Bios.

Artistic Director Randy James noted, "Now in our seventh season, the addition of these company members reflects our growing need to fulfill demand for our programs and services locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. These men embody the full range of styles and techniques required to exemplify the breadth and depth of our repertory including our aggressive commissioning of new works. "

Nik Owens is a New York based performer who was born and raised in Altadena, California where he began his movement experience with gymnastics at age three and continued at a competitive level until he was 18. Nik began to study dance seriously at Wesleyan University, where he graduated with honors, with a BA in Dance and a certificate in Environmental Studies. He has had the pleasure of working with choreographers such as Nicholas Leichter, Tania Isaac, and Kyle Abraham and has performed works by Vanessa Tamburi , The Dance Exchange, Gierre Godley's Project 44, Mersiha Mesihovic's CircuitDebris, Raja Kelly's thefeath3rtheory, Bryn Cohn + Artists, Helen Simoneau Danse, and Abdul Latif's D2D/T. Nik currently dances with David Dorfman Dance and Tiffany Mills Company. Owens noted, "I've had a long -tanding rapport with Randy and the men at 10HL so it felt like home when I started working with them. I'm so excited to learn more about them and how we can all push each other as artists and as people."

Michael Wang is originally from New Jersey, where he began his dance training at the age of 16. He studied all forms of dance, as well as acting and voice, at Class Act Performing Arts Studio, and furthered his dance studies at New Jersey Dance Theatre Ensemble. He graduated magna cum laude from Marymount Manhattan College, where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance, with a concentration in Ballet. Following graduation, Michael performed with Los Angeles based contemporary dance company, BODYTRAFFIC. He has performed in works by Gerald Arpino, Jiri Kylian, Sidra Bell, Stijn Celis, Doug Varone, Larry Keigwin, and Robert Battle, among others. Michael has also continued his training at several intensives including the Nederlands Dans Theater Summer Intensive, Jacob's Pillow Contemporary Program, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Movement Invention Project. Wang noted, "I am thrilled and very grateful to be joining the 10 Hairy Legs family. I look forward to growing alongside my fellow company members, furthering my artistic exploration, and to share the art of dance with others."

About 10 Hairy Legs

10 Hairy Legs is an all male repertory dance company performing newly commissioned and curated works. Since our founding in 2012 we have commissioned 16 works from choreographers Doug Varone, Doug Elkins, Tiffany Mills, Manuel Vignoulle, Julie Bour, Megan Williams, Al Blackstone, Raja Feather Kelly, Nicholas Sciscione, Yin Yue and founder Randy James. We have served more than 80,000 patrons, students, artists and educators throughout the NY/NJ region, in NYC at Baryshnikov Arts Center, BAM Fisher/Fishman Space, New York Live Arts, The 92nd Street Y, Brooklyn Dance Festival, Modern Dance at Bryant Park, Dixon Place, Gibney Dance, Joe's Pub, West End Theatre, Fire Island for the DRA Benefit Week End, Dance at Socrates, Koresh Come Together Festival, DanceFest Milford; on tour to the Choregus Dance Festival in Tulsa, OK and as a guest artist at its Benefit Gala in July 2017, appearing with Joffrey and Geneva Ballets, Seattle, WA, The Cayman Islands, New England; and Rhode Island and in 2017-2018 toured to 10 states outside of NJ; broadcast nationally and internationally on NJTV's State of the Arts, The Meredith Vieira Show and Nick Cannon's Red Nose Dancathon, and in residence at the Kaatsbaan International Dance Center. In December 2016 we were the only American dance company appearing at the Cape Town (South Africa) International Dance Festival. We provide a wide range of education programs for all ages exemplifying the many facets of maleness as expressed through dance to more than 6,500 students and educators each year. In Fall 2019 the company heads to the heartland with appearances at The Carlsen Center in Overland Park, KS and Choregus at the Tulsa, OK PAC in addition to multiple educational partnerships with universities there and in Nebraska and Missouri.

"...Gotta hand it to them: 10 Hairy Legs shows what modern dance should be..." - Demetrius Klein, Palm Beach Daily News 2018

Our Artistic Collaborators are choreographers Al Blackstone, Julie Bour, Seàn Curran, David Dorfman, Dan Froot, Doug Elkins, Raja Feather Kelly, Heidi Latsky, Cleo Mack, Tiffany Mills, David Parker, Stephen Petronio, Claire Porter, Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor, Doug Varone, Manuel Vignoulle, Christopher Williams, Megan Williams, Nicholas Sciscione and Yin Yue; musicians/composers Tigger Benford, Sarah Biber, Jane Chung, Lachlan Glen, Kyle Olson, Robert Maggio, Ofer Pelz, Bryan Strimpel, Michael Wall, Dorian Wallace and Peter Whitehead; and designers Abraham Cruz, Oana Botez, Cindy Capraro, Benjamin Heller, Jason Flamos, John Lasiter, Naomi Luppescu, Mary Kokie McNaugher, Dennis O'Leary-Gullo, Lauren Parrish, Amanda Ringger, Amanda Shafran, Ken Tabatchnik, Olivier Theyskens, Asa Thornton and Tuce Yasak. In addition to their work with 10 Hairy Legs, our company members are currently featured artists with The Bang Group, Stephen Petronio Company, Lucinda Childs Dance and Zvi Dance, among others.

Leadership funding for the company has been provided by The Geraldine R. Dodge, Frank & Lydia Bergen, Blanche and Irving Laurie, The O'Donnell Green Music & Dance, Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels, Mertz Gilmore, Magyar Bank and Hyde & Watson Foundations, The Harkness Foundation for Dance, Johnson & Johnson, American Dance Abroad's Rapid Response, New Music USA, The New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Dept. of State, receiving a Citation of Excellence, the generous contributors to the Rita & Philip Levy New Works Fund and The Constance Poster Trust for New Choreography.