The mission of 10 Hairy Legs is to advance the understanding of the male role in dance through the creation, acquisition and performance of exceptional work. Here's a look at their 2014-2015 Repertory.
Stephen Petronio was born in Newark, New Jersey, and received a BA from Hampshire College in Amherst, MA, where he began dancing in 1974. Initially inspired by the dancing of Rudolf Nureyev and Steve Paxton, Petronio was the first male dancer of the Trisha Brown Company (1979 to 1986). For 30 years, he has honed a unique language of movement that speaks to the intuitive and complex possibilities of the body within the shifting sphere of our current time. Founded in 1984, Stephen Petronio Company has performed throughout the world, including 20 seasons at The Joyce Theater in New York City. Petronio has created over 35 works for his company, and has been commissioned by some of the world's most prestigious modern and ballet companies. He has received numerous accolades, including a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, and awards from the Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts, an American Choreographer Award, and a New York Dance and Performance "Bessie" Award. In 2012, Petronio was named the first Artist-in-Residence at The Joyce Theater, for a residency continuing through 2014. Petronio has recently published a memoir, Confessions of a Motion Addict.
Covariance, choreography and direction by Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor with music by Frederic Chopin was originally created on a man and a woman. Chopin's Waltzes create the atmosphere for this energetic and humorous perspective on the complexity of relationship. The dramaturgy leads the duo from the colorful phase of seduction to the later phases of manipulation and battle, confusion and finally acceptance. The work premiered in 2004 at the Susan Dellal Center in Tel Aviv. This is the first time the work has been set on anyone other than its creators. "An enchanted evening, fascinating in its perspective on love and intimacy." - Zvi Goren, Ha'bama.
Niv Sheinfeld danced for 5 years in the Liat Dror & Nir Ben-Gal Dance Company, and for the last 13 years creates as an independent choreographer. Sheinfeld had been creating works for the Kibbutz Dance Company, Bat Sheva ensemble and others, and received 2 major awards for his work: the choreography award from the Israeli Minister of Arts, and the prestigious "Rosenblum award" for performing arts. Sheinfeld also teaches dance and creation in the School of Visual Theater in Jerusalem, Suzanne Dellal center in Tel Aviv and others.
Oren Laor studied theatre and performance at the Tel Aviv University between 1993-1997. During that time he worked with highly praised theatre directors such as Yvgeny Arye, Edna Shavit, Nola Chilton and others. From 2004 he's been creating contemporary dance works together with Niv Sheinfeld. Since 2009 Laor is a member of the artistic committee of Tmuna Theatre in Tel Aviv. In addition, he gives workshops for professional practitioners, combining different methods and techniques of performance and movement exploration.
St. Petersburg Waltz, choreography by Seán Curran with music by Meredith Monk was created for Danspace Project's gala honoring Meredith Monk in 2012. The solo reflects her imaginings of her Grandfather's life in Russia during the tumultuous years between World War I and World War II. A devout Cantor, it reflects his unshakeable faith despite overwhelming repression. "There's no fresher, more invigorating American dance now than the choreography of Seán Curran." -- Lewis Segal, The Los Angeles Times. The performance of this work will include live musical accompaniment.
Seán Curran was a leading dancer with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and an original member of the New York cast of "STOMP!" He currently serves as Chair of the Department of Dance at Tisch School of the Arts/New York University. The Seán Curran Company has appeared at such venues as the Duke on 42nd St, the Joyce Theatre, Jacob's Pillow, and Dance Theatre Workshop. Curran has choreographed and/or directed for Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, and on Broadway. In 2012, Seán Curran Company was chosen by DanceMotion USA (produced by the Brooklyn Academy of Music) to perform and teach throughout Central Asia as cultural ambassadors of the US State Department. Seán was awarded a New York Dance and Performance "Bessie" Award as a performer, and was recently nominated as a choreographer.
Slapstuck, choreography by David Parker. Once you've seen what New York choreographer David Parker does with Velcro, you'll never look at the hook-and-loop fabric fastener again in quite the same way. The dancers come literally unglued as they negotiate the perilous and hysterical results of wearing neck to toe Velcro suits. Among the many surprising elements is the use of the Velcro suits to produce a ripping percussive score. "Choreographer David Parker has rhythm in his bones and his heart on his sleeve." -- Thea Singer, The Boston Globe.
David Parker is a 2013 Guggenheim fellow for choreography. In 1995 Parker founded The Bang Group, a company devoted to his love of rhythmic form and the humor and connection it brings to artists and audiences alike. TBG has toured extensively though the U.S. and Europe. In addition to his work with The Bang Group, he has created over 30 commissioned works for dance companies, universities, festivals and soloists both here and abroad. He has won awards for his work in The Netherlands, Germany and Monaco and has won community awards from Dancers Responding to AIDS, Dance Theater Workshop and The Gibney Dance Center. His notorious Velcro duet was given a New York Dance and Performance Award for Design in 2002. Mr. Parker teaches dance composition at The Juilliard School, Barnard College, Hunter College and The Alvin Ailey School and was visiting professor at Princeton University and SUNY Purchase. He writes regularly about dance for Dance Magazine and The Brooklyn Rail and has served as an artist/curator for Danspace Project's Platform Series (Rhythm and Humor), Gotham Arts Focus Dance, 92nd Street Y's Fridays at Noon and, for the past three seasons, at The Yard's annual Tap the Yard Festival on Martha's Vineyard.
Solo 1, choreographed by Heidi Latsky with music by Chris Brierly is a powerful yet subtle solo that explores rhythmic circles emanating from a central standing figure, beginning quietly and building to a dramatic peak. Heidi Latsky is "a choreographer and dancer of uncommon intelligence and fluidity" - The New York Times. "[The work] beautifully resets preconceptions about bodies and movement." -- The New Yorker.
Heidi Latsky first received recognition as a principal dancer for the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company (1987-1993). She has toured extensively throughout the United States and Europe with her own company and as part of Goldhuber & Latsky. The Cannes International Dance Festival, American Dance Festival, Whitney Museum of Art, and Joyce Theater are among those who have commissioned her choreography. Latsky developed her teaching practice as head of the Movement Department at The School for Film and Television (1998-2005). She currently teaches performance skills workshops at STEPS. The GIMP Project, begun in 2006, is a body of work featuring disabled and nondisabled dancers. The critically acclaimed GIMP (2008) was the first evening length work of this series. Highlights include Abrons Arts Center (NYC), Institute of Contemporary Art (Boston), The Kennedy Center (DC), CAP Awards (The Netherlands), The Reelabilities Film Festival (NYC), Dublin Dance Festival, DaDaFest in Liverpool, Chicago Humanities Festival, CREA Conference in Kathmandu, and Crossing Borders Festival in Dusseldorf. GIMP is the subject of Richard Move's documentary which premiered at Lincoln Center Febuary, 2014, AP and NY Times multi-media pieces, and features on CNN, NET and NPR. A profile on GIMP was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2010. As part of the 2013/14 New York State Presenters Network tour, HLD was presented at Rochester University and the Orpheum Theater in Tannersville. She was recently selected as the first participant to create a film for the Mellon Dance Film Project at Montclair State University. Upcoming venues include Columbia College (Chicago), Syracuse University, Peak Performances at Montclair University and the American Dance Festival. A new site-specific work will be presented at The Atrium at Lincoln Center in June of 2015.
Bath Tub Trio for Three Men, choreography by Cleo Mack with music by Beethoven. This work combines delicate gestures and aggressive physicality to confront the voyeuristic tendencies of American culture. This is the first time Ms. Mack has set the work on all men.
Cleo Mack was selected by Dance Magazine as one of the "25 to Watch in 2002." She began her dance training at the Purpich School of the Arts and earned her BFA in dance from Mason Gross School of the Arts, where she was the recipient of ACDFA/Dance Magazine Award for Outstanding Student Choreography. Ms. Mack has received grants and fellowships from the Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts in honor of her high artistic merit. Her work has been performed extensively through out New York and New Jersey for the past ten years, including performances at Steel Stacks, Kennedy Center, DTW, Joyce Soho, Triskelion Arts, George Street Playhouse, and P.S.1. She has been commissioned to create new work for Purpich School of the Arts, Quad Cities Ballet and DeSales University. Ms. Mack has been a teaching artist for the American Repertory Ballet Institute, Rutgers University, DeSale University, Muhlenberg University and the University of Iowa. She is currently Director of Dance at the Middlesex County Vocational and Technical School of the Performing Arts and the Artistic Director of Washington Rock Ballet and Modern Companies.
Heaven's Dust, choreographed by Randy James with an original score by Tigger Benford and Michael Wall, is a re-envisioning of a trio originally commissioned to appear on a program at St.Mark's Church for a benefit for Dancers Responding to Aids about how we as human beings push each other's buttons. The work will have live music during the 2014-2015 season.
Randy James, Founding Artistic Director of 10 Hairy Legs, has significantly impacted the field of dance for more than three decades locally, regionally, nationally and internationally as a highly regarded dancer, choreographer, teacher, guest lecturer, panelist and staunch advocate of the arts. In 2010 the The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation cited him as "The Patron Saint of New Jersey dance." As a choreographer, James has created more than 40 works on his own companies and on 16 other professional companies throughout the United States, garnering positive reviews from The New York Times and The Village Voice. The New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State honored him three times with Choreography Fellowships in 1995, 2002 and 2014 in recognition of his artistic excellence and named him "Distinguished Teaching Artist." As an Associate Professor of Dance, James has been a member of the dance faculty at Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University, since 1998.
Company members are Alex Biegelson, Tony Bordonaro, Robert Burke, Nathan Coder, Tyner Dumortier, Kyle Marshall, Aaron Ramos, Scott Schneider, Nicholas Sciscione and William Tomaskovic. In addition to their work with 10 Hairy Legs, our company members are currently featured artists with The Bang Group, Stephen Petronio Company, Doug Elkins Choreography, Etc., Tiffany Mills Company, Zvi Dance, and in the off-Broadway hit Sleep No More, among others.
About 10 Hairy Legs
10 Hairy Legs, founded by Randy James in 2012, is a dance company -- comprised entirely of men -- of James' work as well as existing and new works by today's most significant choreographers. 10 Hairy Legs does not reflect a specific point of view about the male experience, but rather celebrates and explores the tremendous technical and emotional range of the male dancer. Randy James, at the forefront of this generation's choreographers, educators and arts advocates, is the driving force of 10 Hairy Legs, serving as its Artistic Director. James was awarded his third Choreographic Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts this year.
Our Artistic Collaborators are choreographers Julie Bour, Seán Curran, David Dorfman, Dan Froot, Doug Elkins, Heidi Latsky, Cleo Mack, Tiffany Mills, David Parker, Stephen Petronio, Claire Porter, Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor, and Manuel Vignoulle; musicians Tigger Benford, Sarah Biber, Jane Chung, Kyle Olson, Robert Maggio, and Kyle Olson; and designers Abraham Cruz, Oana Botez, Cindy Capraro, Benjamin Heller, John Lasiter, Mary Kokie McNaugher, Lauren Parrish, Amanda Ringger, and Olivier Theyskens.
Education is an important component of our work. We provide a wide range of programs suitable for all ages, whether for the aspiring professional, novice beginner or artist citizen, focusing on the many facets of maleness as expressed through dance.
Since our founding, we have served more than 20,000 patrons, students, artists and educators with our programs of performance and education throughout the NY/NJ region, in New York City at New York Live Arts, Dixon Place, Joe's Pub, The West End Theatre as part of the Soaking Wet Festival, Dance at Socrates, Dance on the Lawn, and on tour in The Cayman Islands and New England.
Leadership funding for the company has been provided by The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, New Music USA's Live Music for Dance Program, The Frank & Lydia Bergen Foundation, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, The O'Donnell Green Music & Dance Foundation, Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission, with assistance provided by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Dept. of State, and The Hyde & Watson Foundation.
