10HL LIVE! Streaming to Announce The 10HL Choreographic Initiative

10 Hairy Legs, the male repertory dance company, will hold its first Live Streaming Event on Friday, May 17 from 3:00 - 5:00 pm to launch The 10HL Choreographic Initiative to raise $100,000 during the coming year. The Initiative will fund our overarching commitment to commissioning 10 choreographers in the next 5 years. The Initiative serves to further demonstrate the company's commitment to the importance of bold and new choreographic voices in the field that challenge and inspire.

10HL Live on May 17 will feature members of the company in rehearsal and interviews with them by guest host Deborah Lohse, our guest choreographers, designers and musicians, funding partners and supporters, as well as some surprises - all broadcast LIVE from Gibney Dance, Studio H in New York City. Broadcast viewers will be encouraged to contribute to the fund during 10HL Live. The public may attend the event free at Gibney.

Artistic Director Randy James noted, "The commissioning of new work has become the lifeblood of the company. Our company members are exceptionally open to new ideas and ways of moving, embracing the many styles and perspectives of our guest choreographers. As we continue to grow and expand our reach, response to our new works has been warmly received by presenters, critics, audiences and in educational settings. There are no limits to what our men can achieve and communicate to create strong connections. These are times of alienation and we strive to break down perceived barriers to encourage open and honest dialogues. These new works will help us to achieve those goals."

Randy James, Artistic Director of 10 Hairy Legs, has had a significant impact on the field of dance for more than four decades nationally and internationally as a highly regarded dancer, choreographer, teacher, guest lecturer, panelist and staunch advocate of the arts. His mentorship skills are highly sought after by major institutions including NJPAC, DNJ and numerous universities and conservatories. He has served as a Grant Award Panelist for highly distinguished institutions including New Music USA and The Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, among others. In 2010 The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation cited him as "The Patron Saint of New Jersey dance." James is Professor Emeritus, Rutgers - The State University of New Jersey. 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."

10 Hairy Legs, a male repertory company, provides a lens to experience the broad spectrum of dance. Widely acclaimed for its aggressive commissioning of new works and curation of master works, we have served more than 85,000 patrons, students, artists and educators since our founding in 2012, nationally and internationally.

Commissions: Doug Varone, Doug Elkins, Tiffany Mills, Manuel Vignoulle, Julie Bour, Megan Williams, Adam Barruch, Al Blackstone, Larry Keigwin, Raja Feather Kelly, Nicholas Sciscione and Yin Yue. Broadcasts have included NJTV's State of the Arts, The Meredith Vieira Show and Nick Cannon's Red Nose Dancathon. Dance Education is an important part of our mission and we provide a wide range of programs for all ages exemplifying the many facets of maleness expressed through dance to more than 4,500 students and educators each year.

Our work features 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, Sarah Dixon, Benjamin Heller, Jason Flamos, John Lasiter, Naomi Luppescu, Mary Kokie McNaugher, Dennis O'Leary-Gullo, Lauren Parrish, Amanda Ringger, Eric Mark Rodrigues, 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, Lucinda Childs Dance 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 in 2018 and 2019, the generous contributors to the Rita & Philip Levy New Works Fund and The Constance Poster Trust for New Choreography.

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