10 Hairy Legs to Host 2013 NYC Dance Intensive, 7/6-12

Randy James' new dance company, 10 Hairy Legs, will hold its first annual week long, all-day Summer Intensive Workshop July 8-12 at Gina Gibney Dance, 890 Broadway in New York City. The Intensive will focus on preparing dancers (male and female) to explore and challenge themselves as complete artists in preparation for a professional career in the field.

The curriculum for the week includes: Yoga class taught by a different guest teacher each day, a two hour technique class with Vignoulle, a two hour Creative Process class with Porter, and Alexander Technique with Sichel. At the conclusion of the Intensive, participants perform works created in these classes alongside members of the company. Prospective students must be 16 years of age or older to apply. This is a non-residential program.

Vignoulle approaches his class as the place where dancers experiment with new ways of using their for a better understanding of their dancing. The class is for the dancers to test, challenge and better their ability to follow the given combination with accuracy and precision, without losing their personality in the process, or the quality that makes each dancer unique. The class includes classical technique, as well as a lot of upper body movement, body weight changes, opposition and breathing. Each class leads up to a piece of set choreography, where the dancers challenge their technique, understanding of space and explore their own interpretation. Vignoulle stated, "I am not here to change their bodies, but to start with who they are and what they have in terms of physical abilities, and to teach them how to use their body at full efficiency, to seem effortless and look fantastic. Dancers are magicians, making hard things seems easy, effortless to the watch, as well as story tellers."

Sichel stated: "Using the Alexander Technique we will examine and reconnect to our body's natural coordination between the breath and movement to reveal a dynamic alignment without effort, allowing us to bring into play our potential for complex movement and self expression."

In the Creative Process classes Claire Porter will play/work with choreographic concepts, generating and developing movement ideas, then organizing and editing that material, discovering along the way what is being revealed and what makes something interesting.
Fee for the Summer Intensive is $400 for the week. There is no partial week enrollment. Application information and submission requirements may be found at: 10HL.org on our Summer Intensive page.

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 a highly regarded dancer (Dan Wagoner and Dancers, Metropolitan Opera 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 including American Dance Festival, Jacob's Pillow, London Contemporary Dance Theatre and School, VII Annual 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, Ram Island Dance, Nimbus Dance Works, BioDance, Terra Firma Dance Theatre and American Repertory Ballet, among others.

The New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State honored him with two Choreography Fellowship in recognition of his artistic excellence and named him "Distinguished Teaching Artist." James' former company, Randy James Dance Works, operated with uninterrupted service for 16 years.

Manuel Vignoulle, born in France, studied at The Conservatoire National Supérieur de Danse de Paris and went on to work with contemporary French choreographers including Claude Brumachon, Corinne Lanselle, 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 for Arts, 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.

Diann Sichel, certified Alexander Technique teacher, movement artist, performance advisor and director; choreographs for visual and performance artists with venues in media, main-stage and non-traditional spaces. On the faculty of the Atlantic Acting School and Montclair State University, with a private Alexander Technique practice in NYC/NJ, Diann teaches Alexander Technique, breathing coordination and movement. Artistic and educational work include Princeton University, Wake Forest, Connecticut College, CSU/Long Beach, University of Colorado, Dansens Hus, Musique de Norte Temps en Thouet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, Smokebrush Foundation, Colorado Springs Symphony, Harbinger Dance Company, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, George Street Playhouse. MFA/dance.

Founding Principal company members of 10 Hairy Legs: Alex Biegelson, Tyner Dumortier, Kyle Marshall, Scott Schneider and Nick Sciscione. Each an important artist in his own right, they are in demand by many of the modern dance world's most notable choreographers, currently appearing with Stephen Petronio Company, Doug Elkins, ZviDance, and Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company in addition to their core work with 10 Hairy Legs.

10 Hairy Legs is a repertory company - comprised entirely of men - 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 advances the understanding of the male role in modern dance through the creation, acquisition and performance of exceptional work from the contemporary canon.