Founding Artistic Director Randy James stated, “We are thrilled to serve as cultural ambassadors representing the United States through dance and look forward to a meaningful exchange of ideas and experiences. Our work as an all-male repertory dance company provides us with a unique platform for important dialogues. We will perform two of our World Premiere Commissions by choreographers Doug Elkins and Manuel Vignoulle that showcase the stylistic and technical virtuosity of our company members and clearly display the depth and breadth of American Modern Dance.”
Funds were raised for the trip through a Go Fund Me Campaign and travel grants from American Dance Abroad’s Rapid Response and Rutgers University.
10 Hairy Legs is an all-male repertory dance company performing existing and newly commissioned works. Since our founding in 2012 the company has commissioned 12 works from choreographers Doug Varone, Doug Elkins, Tiffany Mills, Manuel Vignoulle, Julie Bour, Megan Williams and founder Randy James. We have served more than 65,000 patrons, students, artists and educators throughout the NY/NJ region, in NYC at 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; on tour to the Choregus Dance Festival in Tulsa, OK, Seattle, WA, The Cayman Islands, New England and Rhode Island; 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. We provide a wide range of education programs for all ages focusing on the many facets of maleness as expressed through dance, serving 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 Julie Bour, Seàn Curran, David Dorfman, Dan Froot, Doug Elkins, Heidi Latsky, Cleo Mack, Tiffany Mills, David Parker, Stephen Petronio, Claire Porter, Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor, Doug Varone, Manuel Vignoulle, Christopher Williams and Megan Williams; musicians Tigger Benford, Sarah Biber, Jane Chung, Lachlan Glen, Kyle Olson, Robert Maggio, Michael Wall, Dorian Wallace and Peter Whitehead; and designers Abraham Cruz, Oana Botez, Cindy Capraro, Benjamin Heller, John Lasiter, Naomi Luppescu, Mary Kokie McNaugher, Dennis O’Leary-Gullo, Lauren Parrish, Amanda Ringger, Amanda Shafran, Ken Tabatchnik and Olivier Theyskens. 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 American Dance Abroad’s Rapid Response, 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, The Harkness Foundation for Dance, Magyar Bank Foundation, Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission, with assistance provided by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Dept. of State, the Rutgers Research Council, The Hyde & Watson Foundation and the Rita & Philip Levy New Works Fund.
