10 Hairy Legs to Perform at Crossroad Theatre, 5/4

Randy James' all male dance company, 10 Hairy Legs, appears at Crossroads Theatre, New Brunswick on Sunday, May 4, 2014 at 3:00 pm for its final New Jersey performance of its 2013-2014 season. The performance features all ten of the company members. The company is now double our size since our founding in 2012.

Continuing the company's aggressive repertory expansion that explores the range of today's male dancer, this program features a Company Premiere entitled "Friends of Dorothy." David Parker has reimagined the work for 10 Hairy Legs that was originally created in 2003 for Jeff Kazin and himself for their company The Bang Group. It features a musical score with selections from the Barn-Raising from "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" (MGM 1954) by Gene de Paul; "Why Not Me" sung by Debbie Reynolds, music by Jay Livingston and lyrics by Ray Evans; and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" sung by Jane Powell music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E.Y. Harbur.

Parker stated, "Working with Randy James' excellent company, 10 Hairy Legs, has felt to me like coming home. Randy has cultivated a creative community that prizes generosity, virtuosity, wit, theatrical savvy and a sense of adventure. Over the past two years, Randy has allowed me to translate and reimagine two of my most cherished works. "Friends of Dorothy" is my second work for the company after my resetting of "Bang" last season. Both of these works were created for myself and my dance partner and muse, Jeffrey Kazin and have been defining works for my company, The Bang Group. I was immediately struck by the technical finesse, rhythmic acuity and comic timing of Alex (Biegelson) and Tyner (Dumortier) who are among the dancers performing the piece. Therefore, I created a new piece on the foundations of the old in order to highlight these dancers in the prime of their artistry. Unlike most dances for men, this one requires a kind of intimacy and detailed partnering that male dancers rarely use with one another. The men of 10 Hairy Legs have the skill and the chemistry to pull the whole thing off with aplomb."

Also on the program will be "The Blind Men and the Elephant" by Julie Bour, "Trouble Will Find Me" by Doug Elkins, James' poignant duet, "Closing the Glass Door," and Claire Porter's spoken word/movement piece "Interview." Bour's and Elkins' works had their world premiere at New Jersey Performing Arts Center on March 8 at part of its Jersey Moves! Festival of Dance. James' work will have live musical accompaniment.

'The Blind Men and the Elephant" features a newly composed score by Kyle Olson, a frequent collaborator of Bour's. Combining the exploration of her medium with theatrical collaborations Julie crafts her language over time by consistently working with a diverse group of celebrated dancers committed to dance invention. Scenic Design is by Benjamin Heller. The work was underwritten in part by a major grant from The O'Donnell Green Music & Dance Foundation.

"Trouble Will Find Me" features five company members in a rousing work set to the music of Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn, an internationally acclaimed Pakistani musician, who was primarily a singer of Qawwali, the devotional music of the Sufis. The movement incorporates floreos (small, expressing hand movements used in Spanish dancing), floor work, Capoeira and Salsa. Elkins stated, "I am interested in conversations that deconstruct dance forms and in this work have indulged in the men's sensuality and funkiness while integrating the company members' individual corporeality to create a composite." Costumes are by Oana Botez.

"Closing the Glass Door," set to the Haendel-Halvorsen Pascacaglia, a duet for Violin and Cello, had its debut performance at Raritan Valley Community College's "Dances from the Garden" in September 2009. In his review, Star-Ledger critic Robert Johnson noted, "One of the beauties of a subtle dance like this is that it doesn't slap on a label or supply an easy answer that will stop the viewer from thinking. Instead the dancers' physicality insinuates what different kinds of intimate relationships might have in common."

The performance on May 4 is preceded by a free inter-active Workshop for ticket holders at 1:30 PM in the upper lobby of the theater. Mr. James, members of the company and guest musicians discuss and demonstrate the nuances of the relationship between live music and dance. The performance, musical accompaniment and Workshop for "Closing the Glass Door" are funded in part by a Major Grant from the Frank & Lydia Bergen Foundation. Guest musicians Sarah Biber (Cello) and Jane Chung (Violin) have worked with James many times over the years, including most recently as part of a quartet for James' new solo work "Rook" at Crossroads Theatre in April 2013 at NJPAC in March 2014 and will be at New York Live Arts in June 26-29, 2014.

Company members are Alex Biegelson, Tony Bordonaro, Robert Burke, Tyner Dumortier, Kyle Marshall, Aaron Ramos, Scott Schneider, Nick Sciscione, William Tomaskovic and Carlo Antonio Villanueva. They are all currently actively employed as performers and educators in the field, working with Stephen Petronio, Doug Elkins, The Bang Group, Tiffany Mills Company, ZviDance, off-Broadway in "Sleep No More," and the Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company, among others.

This season the company appeared as part of the The Hub City Sounds Festival August 27 in New Brunswick, NJ, at the DanceNOW NYC Festival at Joe's Pub, New York City on October 11, the Soaking Wet Festival at the West End Theatre, New York City October 11-14, at Dixon Place New York City November 13, The Theatre at Raritan Valley Community College November 3 as part of its Major Artist Series, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and on tour to the Cayman Islands in March, and upcoming at New York Live Arts June 26-29.

Tickets are $25 for best center seating, $18 for side area seating and Groups of 10 or more, $15 for students and seniors. Tickets may be purchased through Brown Paper Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/588252. Workshop Participants should register in advance as space is limited, also through Brown Paper Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/589032.

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