Randy James' New Dance Company 10 Hairy Legs Debuts at RVCC Today, 11/3

Randy James' new dance company, 10 Hairy Legs, will have its World Debut at The Theatre at Raritan Valley Community College tonight, November 3, 2012 at 8:00 pm.

10 Hairy Legs is a repertory company 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 will advance the understanding of the male role in modern dance through the creation, acquisition and performance of exceptional work from the contemporary canon.
The program for the World Debutfeatures 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 Claire Porter entitled Interview and a World Premiere by David Vignoulle, formerly a member of Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet and GenEva Ballet.

Thefounding Principal dancers are Alex Biegelson, Tyner Dumortier, Kyle Marshall, Scott Schneider and Nick Sciscione. All recent graduates, their technical and artistic expertise raised the level of dance at Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University, during their tenure. They are currently actively employed as performers and educators in the field, working with Stephen Petronio, Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company, LustigDanceTheatre, Nimbus Dance Works and ZviDance, among others. All currently reside in New Jersey. They are joined by Cyle Jackson, currently a senior completing his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Dance.

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 will 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.

Thebalance of the 2012-2013 season includes additional works from James'critically acclaimed repertory with appearances at Mason Gross School of the Arts (Middlesex County) and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center's Victoria Theater (Essex County) during its Jersey Moves festival (February 23); at The Crossroads Theatre in New Brunswick, Middlesex County (April 14); our New York City Debut at New York Live Arts (May 30-June 2), and conclude with a two week residency and performances with workshops and outreach on Cayman Brac and Grand Cayman at the end of June.

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 had suffered a personal tragedy and was pursuing his Bachelor of Arts degree while maintaining a full time teaching schedule at Mason Gross School of the Arts.
10 Hairy Legs will serve to engage the core dance audience, and will also draw new audiences from less traditional sources due to its unique perspective as an all male company. The quality of the artistic work presented, as well as the collaborations created, will serve to engage those interested in new work, live music and renowned choreographers. As James will continue his position as a member of the faculty of Mason Gross' Dance Department following his Sabbatical, it will also serve to raise the standard of male dancer seeking admission to the department since there will be a notable professional performing entitycomprised of graduates from the program. James' wildly popular Dance Appreciation class, attended by more than 1,000 non-dance department students each semester, provides a unique opportunity to engage and educate a novice audience.

Tickets to the performance are $30, $20 with Senior and Student discounts available. They may be purchased by calling (908) 725-3420 or at rvccarts.org. The theater is located at 118 Lamington Road, Branchburg, NJ.

10 Hairy Legs is funded in part by a leadership grant from The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

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 ahighly regarded dancer (Dan Wagoner and Dancers, Princeton Ballet), choreographer, teacher and staunch advocate of the arts.

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 a 1994-95 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, VIIAnnual 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 will celebrate its 10thconsecutive season in December!). 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.

Born in France, Manuel studied at The Conservatoire National Supérieur de Danse de Paris and went on to work with contemporary French choreographers including Claude Brumachon, CorinneLanselle, 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(Nederland) and State Theater Dance Company (South Africa).
In recent years, Manuel danced for Ballet du Grand Théatre de Genève (Switzerland) whish was named best European Ballet Company in 2006. 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 Ambassies and for « Artist emerging from the earth »).

Choreographer Claire Porter, known for her comedic text and movement work and her skilled teaching, has received many commissions and honors including those from The National Endowment forArts, The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, The Live Music for Dance Commissioning Project and The Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation. Porter has an MA in Dance from Ohio State, a BA in Mathematics, and is a Laban Movement Analyst.

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