10 Hairy Legs Makes NYC Debut at NY Live Arts, Now thru 6/2

Randy James' new Dance Company, 10 Hairy Legs, will have its New York City Debut at New York Live Arts, tonight, May 30 and May 31, June 1 at 7:30 pm and June 2 at 2:00 pm.

10 Hairy Legs is a repertory company - comprised entirely of men -­- of Randy James' work as well as existing and new works by today's most significant modern dance choreographers, not meant to reflect a specific point of view about the male experience, but rather to celebrate and exploit the tremendous technical and emotional range of today's male dancer. 10 Hairy Legs seeks to advance the understanding of the male role in dance through the creation, acquisition and performance of exceptional work.

The program for the New York Debut features a World Debut by James entitled Rook with live music at all performances composed specifically for the work by Robert Maggio; James' Pillar of Salt; David Parker's duet Bang -­- which Parker has set on us for the first time ever outside of his own company; a solo by Spoken Word Artist Claire Porter entitled Interview, and Together We Stand by Manuel Vignoulle, formerly a member of Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet and GenEva Ballet. Together We Stand was created for the World Debut of 10 Hairy Legs on November 25, 2012. Parker and Porter are 2013 Guggenheim Fellowship Award Winners for choreography.

Our World Debut performance prompted Robert Johnson, Dance Critic for The Star-Ledger, to cite 10 Hairy Legs among the top 20 dance events of 2012 in his year-end review, along with notables in the field such as The Paris Opera Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Bill T. Jones, Jiri Kylian and Sylvie Guillem.

The Founding Principal dancers are: Alex Biegelson, Tyner Dumortier, Kyle Marshall, Scott Schneider and Nick Sciscione. In addition to 10 Hairy Legs, they currently appear with Stephen Petronio, Doug Elkins and ZviDance. Cyle Jackson and Carlo Antonio Villaneuva join the founding members. Tony Bordonaro, currently appearing in the Off-Broadway hit "Sleep No More," appears as a Guest Artist.

10 Hairy Legs, while new in its current form, grows from James' experience as the five founding men's principal teacher, coach and mentor during their four years as dance majors at Mason Gross School of the Arts. During those four years an intimate working relationship evolved that served to create cohesion among the artists while providing James with the palette to produce several new and important works that form the nucleus of the company's initial repertory. So while the company is "new," it hits the ground running with seasoned dancers who have a complete understanding of its vision led by James who has 30+ years of active experience in the field as a choreographer, teacher, educator, and outspoken arts leader in the state and beyond.

The 2012-­-2013 season concludes with Teaching Residencies in Berlin, Germany and touring on The Cayman Islands at the end of June.

Tickets to the performance are $20 Full Price and $15 for Senior/Student/Dancers/Live Arts Members. The theater is located at 219 W. 19th Street. Tickets may be purchased by calling NYLA at 212-924-0077 or at http://www.newyorklivearts.org/event/10_hairy_legs.

10 Hairy Legs is funded in part by a leadership grants from The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, New Music USA's 2013 Live Music For Dance Program, with generous support from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, and the Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission. 10 Hairy Legs New York City Debut is made possible through New York Live Arts' Theater Access Program. The Theater Access Program is a comprehensive subsidized rental program benefitting a diverse group of dance and theater companies and producing organizations.

Photos upon request.

About Randy James

Randy James, Founding Artistic Director of 10 Hairy Legs, has made a significant impact in the field of dance for more than three decades locally, regionally, nationally and internationally as a highly regarded dancer (Dan Wagoner and Dancers, Princeton Ballet), choreographer, teacher and staunch advocate of the arts.

James' former company, Randy James Dance Works, operated with uninterrupted service for 16 years until 2009, at which time he and the board decided to put the company on hiatus. James has an international following as a master teacher and choreographer, receiving commissions from dance companies, colleges and universities across the nation. The New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State honored him with two Choreography Fellowship in recognition of his artistic excellence and named him "Distinguished Teaching Artist."

He has been a guest artist at various institutions, including American Dance Festival, Jacob's Pillow, London Contemporary Dance Theatre and School, VII Annual International Contemporary Dance Conference and Performance Festival in Poland, Tage des Tanzas in Germany and Austria, Fine Five School in Estonia, Via Danse in Latvia, Dance Space, Inc., SUNY Purchase, George Mason University, University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Greensboro, Virginia Commonwealth University, James Madison University, East Carolina University and Ram Island Dance, among others.

THE BANG GROUP, founded in 1995 by David Parker and Jeffrey Kazin who continue to direct the company together, is devoted to Parker's love of rhythmic form and the humor which flows inevitably from it. TBG appears regularly throughout NYC and has been presented in ten full evening programs at Dance Theater Workshop (now New York Live Arts) including Nut/Cracked (which celebrated its 10th consecutive season in December 2012). The company has appeared in 13 countries and 23 of the United States. TBG has been in residence every summer at Concord Summer Stages Dance Festival in Massachusetts for the past 12 years and has presented almost all of Parker's new work there. Parker is a 2013 Guggenheim Fellowship Award Winner for choreography.

Born in France, Manuel Vignoulle studied at The Conservatoire National Superieur de Danse de Paris and went on to work with contemporary French choreographers including Claude Brumachon, Corinne Lanselle, Karine Saporta and Bernardo Montet. Manuel worked with Redha, a modern-­-jazz choreographer, and has performed for television, video, fashion, opera and musicals. He has also been assistant choreographer in collaboration with Alvin Ailey (USA), Het Nationale Ballet (The Nederlands) and State Theater Dance Company (South Africa).

Manuel danced for Ballet du Grand Théatre de Genève (Switzerland) which was named best European Ballet Company in 2006. While there, he worked with choreographers such as Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Adonis Foniadakis, Cisco Aznar, Annabelle Ochoa Lopez, Carolyn Carlson, Benjamin Millepied, Malou Airaudo among others. At Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet (New York) he has performed works by Ohad Naharin, Hofesh Shechter, Didy Veldman, Jo Stromgren, Alexander Eckman and Benoit Swan-Pouffer. Manuel is currently a freelance choreographer performing his own work in Switzerland (Antigel Festival 2012, Tanzfaktor Interregio 2011 and at Geneva Opera House), in France (Theatre Charles Dullin), and in New York (New York City Center studio, Dixon Place, French and Filipino Embassies and for Artist Emerging from the Earth).

Claire Porter, known for her smart comedic work mixing language and movement, has performed Claire Porter / PORTABLES internationally with appearances in India, Scotland, Germany, Holland, England, Latvia, and Korea. In the New York City area her work has been produced at Dance Theater Workshop, Danspace St. Mark's Church, PS 122, Joe's Pub, The Kitchen, The Joyce Theater, Joyce SOHO, 92nd Street Y, Town Hall, The Bottom Line, The New York Horticulture Society, Liberty Science Center, and The New Jersey Performing Arts Center. PORTABLES has also showcased at the American Dance Festival, The Lucille Ball Festival of Comedy, Bates Dance Festival, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Florida Dance Festival, The Kennedy Center, Woolly Mammoth Theater (Washington, D.C.), Tampa Bay Off Center Theater, Duncan Theater (Palm Beach, Florida), Center Stage (Raleigh, North Carolina), The Southern Theater (Minneapolis), The Yard on Martha's Vineyard, among others.

Porter's work has highlighted special events, including a performance introducing the Peter Eisenman Building at the University of Cincinnati, performing as hostess-comedienne-scene-changer for the Minnesota Composers Forum's New Music Concert, and performing in Mikhail Baryshnikov's 2009 GALA. She has also appeared on staircases, boats, backyards, gyms, classrooms, airports, humor festivals, museums, and soapboxes. Porter has performed her Namely, Muscles, an enactment of all the major muscles of the body in poetry, and recipient of the NYC Fringe Festival 2010's Overall Excellence Award, at festivals, body conferences, theaters, medical schools, and universities around the U.S.

Porter was a Resident Artist at The Baryshnikov Art Center and has received several National Endowment for the Arts Choreography Fellowships, New Jersey State Council for the Arts Choreography Fellowships, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Awards, a Live Music for Dance Award and Commissions from Dance Theater Workshop's First Light Project, The 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Festival, Art Matters, Meet The Composer, Vogue Magazine, University Dance Companies, including Purchase College 2013, and Domino's Pizza Company. Porter has taught Laban Movement Analysis and/or Choreography for NYU Steinhardt School, Hope College (Michigan), Columbia Teachers College, Case Western Reserve University, Grand Valley State College, Connecticut College, and Manhattanville College. She teaches her Dancing Workout in Bergen County, New Jersey, and serves on the Board of DanceNJ. Porter has an M.A. in Dance from Ohio State, a B.A. in Mathematics from The College of New Rochelle, and is a Laban Movement Analyst. Porter is a 2013 Guggenheim Fellowship Award Winner for choreography.

Tony Bordonaro graduated from Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University in 2009. Since graduating he has performed with Douglas Dunn and Dancers, Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company and CLeo Mack Dance Project among others. In 2010 he toured China and Hong Kong with the Tze Chun Dance Company and performed at the World Expo in Beijing. In 2011 Tony performed a new work entitled "Passport" created by acclaimed performance artist Robert Whitman. Since then he has been performing the roles of Banquo and the speakeasy bartender in Punch Drunk's hit Off-Broadway show "Sleep No More."