Dance Group 10 Hairy Legs Launches Tour

10 Hairy Legs, the all-male repertory dance company extends its footprint during its seventh season of performances and educational programming, appearing in Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, New York, Maine, Maryland and Rhode Island as well as in its home state of New Jersey. Notable are our dèbut at the Carlsen Center in Kansas City, KS and our third appearance at Choregus in Tulsa, OK. Emily Behrmann, General Manager of the Carlsen Center noted, "10HL is the kind of innovative company that we look for when presenting dance. Their variety, humor and superior skill promises an evening our audience won't soon forget."

Artistic Director Randy James noted, "This fall we head to the American heartland and return to New England as we continue our journey to share our abundance of important commissions that highlight our perspective as an all male dance company. The company is pleased to provide a meaningful and encouraging forum for important conversations about gender roles through the lens of dance."

The tour will showcase 4 exclusive commissioned works by choreographers Al Blackstone, Doug Elkins, Raja Feather Kelly and Yin Yue, and excerpts of a work by Christopher Williams. The company provides in-depth residencies at PACE University and Rhode Island College where 10HL will create works on the students. Additional Master Classes, Residencies and performances take place at Stephens, PATHS, Bowdoin, Skidmore and Colby Colleges; Rochester, Webster, Creighton, Oklahoma, Central Oklahoma and Nebraska Universities bringing the male dance perspective into university and conservatory settings.

The company dèbuts at the MAD Festival at Nazareth College and returns to Kaatsbaan International Dance Center in Tivoli, NY in late October - our third appearance there. Specific dates and times for public performances can be found at 10HL.org.

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 75,000 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 2015 10 Hairy Legs launched 10 HL Projects, which includes women for specific productions outside of the all male company. The first of these was a new full-length work based upon C. S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, choreographed by James that had its World Premiere at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in January 2016.

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 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.

Photo Credit: Rachel Neville