Rasta Thomas

Rasta Kuzma Ramacandra (born July 18, 1981) is an American dancer, martial artist, gymnast, and choreographer, known as Rasta Thomas. He is the founder of the Bad Boys of Dance and the director/owner of the ShowBiz National Talent Competition.

Early life and training

Rasta Thomas was born on July 18, 1981, in San Francisco, California, and raised in Washington, D.C.Eichenbaum (2008), p 188 His parents, both physicians, traveled widely, often taking their son with them.Mason, M.S." (September 25, 98), "Young dancer melds ballet, martial arts, gold medals". ''Christian Science Monitor''. 90 (212):B4 When Thomas was two years old, he broke his leg in a jeep accident, which led to therapeutic physical training.Hanna, Judith Lynne (June 2002), "Rasta's Quest". ''Dance Magazine''. 76(6):40 Thomas began Taekwondo lessons at the age of three, enrolled by his father. When Thomas was seven, his father also enrolled him in ballet classes as a disciplinary measure following concerns about his behavior toward teachers.Dunning, Jennifer (August 14, 1996), "Dance Notes".'' The New York Times''. :12 At eight, his father signed him up for gymnastics and swimming. In gymnastics, he took private lessons under Jamel Eddin Chaabani, who was the head coach of the Tunisian and Saudi National Olympic Teams.

That same year, in swimming, Thomas won the gold medal in the butterfly stroke at the Saudi Arabia Final in Dhahran.

Thomas entered the commercial competition circuit, winning StarQuest, Showbiz, and Star Power dance contests. He pursued aspirations of becoming an action-movie star; his dance career also included performing as a étoile (leading dancer) at the Paris Opera Ballet.

Early career and continued training

Beginning at age twelve, Thomas received dance training at The Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, D.C., and also studied at the Washington School of Ballet. Thomas's father took him to see many ballet companies perform at the Kennedy Center for the Arts. He would then ask dancers if they would give his son classes; they often obliged. At age thirteen, Thomas trained under Dawei Zhang at the Maryland Youth Ballet. Thomas stated, "The technique I learned from him is the blueprint that's allowed me to have a career." At age thirteen, he became the youngest person to receive the Jury Prize at the 1994 Paris International Dance Competition.

Although enrolled at Kirov, which had a policy of only sending dancers considered certain to win gold, Thomas represented the Seiskaya School of Ballet of New York (with whom he was guest performing) at the 1996 Varna International Ballet Competition. Gerald Arpino, Arthur Mitchell, and Debbie Allen sponsored him for $30,000. At fifteen, he was awarded the Junior Gold Medal at the event, becoming the youngest to win, despite a foot injury sustained in karate class. After his win, ''The New York Times'' announced, "Look out, world. Rasta Thomas has arrived." In 1995, Thomas became a member of Le Jeune Ballet de France. In 1997, he was invited by the Hartford Ballet to be a principal artist. At the 1998 USA International Ballet Competition, Thomas won the gold medal, a scholarship, and a cash prize in the senior men's division.

Professional career

In 1998, he was permitted to compete in the senior division of the USA International Ballet Competition (USAIBC).Sims, Caitlin (September 1998), "Rasta Thomas awarded Jackson gold medal".'' Dance Magazine''. 72 (9):35 Thomas won the gold medal, and at 16, became the youngest to win in the senior division, surpassing Mikhail Baryshnikov's previous record age of 18.Poon, Kina (December 2009), "Rebel Without a Pause".'' Dance Magazine''. 83 (12):26 Later that year, he and three other dancers, including Adrienne Canterna, originated a piece for the tenth season of The Vail International Dance Festival. The couple performed at the festival again in 1999.

Upon returning to the US, he began his commercial career in Los Angeles, hiring an agent, dancing in a GAP commercial, and performing a solo in the Debbie-Allen choreographed 1999 Academy Awards.Eichenbaum (2008), p 189 Thomas conceived and directed In ''Homage: A Tribute to Families With AIDS'', a benefit for Self-Help Community Services and its Family Home Care program. After a conversation with his mentor, Arthur Mitchell, he decided to "get back on an artist's path."

Thomas moved to New York City and joined the Dance Theater of Harlem under the tutelage of Mitchell. Instead of signing to another company, Thomas decided to become a guest dancer. While Thomas was dining with choreographer Vladimir Angelov, a friend told Thomas that he was wasting his talent by only performing at galas. Angelov agreed, remarking that excellent dancers are expected to belong to premier companies. Shortly after their dinner, Angelov introduced Thomas to Gerhard Rieder, who presents the Kirov Ballet in Europe, who in turn introduced Thomas to Kirov's company manager, Makharbek Vaziev. Rieder invited Thomas to perform in the Kirov's February 2001 three-hour gala in St. Petersburg. He performed a dance choreographed by Angelov "Flight of the Bumblebee," which received a positive reception, including from Valery Gergiev, the artistic director of the Kirov Ballet and Opera. Vaziev invited Thomas to residency with the ballet and a stipend of $150 a month while granting him the freedom to accept independent work; Thomas declined due to a filming commitment in the movie ''Without a Word'', so Vaziev extended his invitation to the fall. Though Thomas enjoyed the filming experience, he realized his dancing career was finite. He decided to dance for six months in Russia with the Kirov Ballet and moved to St. Petersburg as the first American to become a member of the Kirov in October 2001. While there, he most notably danced as '' Swan Lake's'' Jester, '' Carmen's'' bullfighter, and '' Le jeune homme et la mort's'' Young Man. Due to internal company politics, Thomas became disenchanted and returned to Maryland in February 2002. The following October, he carried the torch and performed in the opening ceremonies of USAIBC.

Thomas has appeared as a guest artist with companies including: 2000–Present: Dance Theater of Harlem, Washington Ballet, City Dance, Baryshnikov's White Oak Dance Company, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, Loundin Ballet, Orlando Ballet, K Ballet, Alonzo King's Lines Contemporary Ballet Company, Complexions, DanceBrazil, Rafael Amargo Dance Company, Universal Ballet, Danza Contemporanea de Cuba, American Ballet Theatre, Kirov Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, etc. 1990-2000: Le Jeune Ballet de France, Joffrey Ballet, Maryland Youth Ballet, Arlington Dance Theater, Tulsa Ballet Theater, Victor Ullate, National Ballet of China, Hartford Ballet, Inoue Ballet, Philadanco, Imperial Russian Ballet.

Thomas danced in the ABT at the Metropolitan Opera House as a guest artist in a Lar Lubovitch production of ''Othello''. He also played the role of Timmy in Patrick Swayze's 2005 DVD '' One Last Dance''. In 2005, Thomas performed a solo in Lar Lubovitch's US debut of ''Elemental Brubeck''. ''Dance Magazine'', in response to his performance, said "A creature of the stage, his presence is magnetic (if lacking nuance), and he relishes all the scrutiny he demands." NY Critic ''The New York Times'' said that the success of the piece can be credited to the "innate good taste and nuanced phrasing that informs Mr. Thomas's spectacular, crystal-clear performance.". That same year, he debuted on Broadway as the lead character Eddie in the musical '' Movin' Out'' and later worked with the ''Movin' Out'' touring company. Thomas was featured on the winter 2006 cover of ''movmnt'' magazine. He choreographed and performed a stand-alone acrobatic ballet solo for "Poetry in New York," a flamenco musical by Rafael Amargo. In late 2008, Thomas gathered several high-profile young dancers and invited them to judge an open video competition, where amateurs could enter a three-minute video of their solos via YouTube or divacompetition.com. In July 2008, Thomas and 11 other gold-medal winners of previous USAIBC competitions were included in a one-night-only IBC Reunion Gala in Jackson, Mississippi.

“To me means artistic freedom. In this country you need fame to achieve your career goals to have people listen to your ideas and grant you money so that you can bring your artistic vision to life. The career is too short not to reach to great heights (June 2008), "Moving Pictures".''Dance Magazine''. ''The Dancer Within''(2008) Thomas was interviewed for the book ''The Dancer Within: Intimate Conversations with Great Dancers'' by Rose Eichenbaum, a collection of interviews with prominent dancers. "Residing in the Body". ''Dance Magazine''. The book accompanied Eichenbaum's touring photography exhibition, also called The Dancer Within, which sought to celebrate "the act of dancing and the lives of dancers."

Bad Boys of Dance

In 2007, Thomas founded the Bad Boys of Dance company (BBD). BBD selected dancers with technical backgrounds from competitions, Broadway, and Juilliard, among others. Their debut performance was at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in July 2007. While the initial critical response was mixed, the popular response was enthusiastic. After seeing one of their early performances, Jennifer Dunning of ''The New York Times'' called it "the dance equivalent of a water-bomb gang," remarked that Thomas's performance displayed "theatrical intelligence" and concluded that BBD "resembles a group of friends, gifted performers with individual presences who enjoy one another's company and blessedly have not an ounce of earnestness in them."

In the summer of 2008, Rasta Thomas created “Rock the Ballet” to showcase BBD. They made their international debut at the St. Pauli theater in Hamburg, Germany. The show incorporated jazz, hip hop, tap, and gymnastics into ballet, set to popular songs. Over the years, BBD featured alumni of ''So You Think You Can Dance'', including Craig DeRosa, Nick Lazzarini, and Danny Tidwell.'' Dance Spirit''.

Since 2007, BBD has given over 1,000 performances worldwide, employing over 100 dancers and entertaining over one million spectators. BBD opened the USAIBC ceremonies on June 12, 2010.''Dance Magazine''. BBD has appeared on television shows in countries including Germany, Switzerland, Austria, England, Japan, and Italy. BBD was featured in the documentary “Never Stand Still,” which included Suzanne Farrell, Paul Taylor, Merce Cunningham, and Mark Morris, and was narrated by Bill T. Jones. The documentary was released in selected theaters and later aired on PBS. BBD was invited to serve as cultural ambassadors for tours and workshops in India and Armenia in association with the U.S. State Department's Art in the Embassies Program. BBD also starred in Rasta Thomas’ productions of “Romeo and Juliet” and “Tap Stars”.

In 2014, the name Bad Boys of Ballet was used on behalf of Bad Boys of Dance on NBC's America's Got Talent.

Personal life

Thomas has one daughter, Anami Halo Ramacandra (meaning "nameless angel of God"). He was married to his long-time dance partner, Adrienne Canterna.

Notes

Thomas had an endorsement deal with the dancewear brand Capezio that spanned five campaigns.

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

*''The Dancer Within: intimate Conversations with Great Dancers''. Rose Eichenbaum, Aron Hirt-Manheimer Wesleyan University Press, 2008 , pp 188–190

Reviews

NY Times
by Jennifer Dunning, July 31, 2007
NY Times
by Roslyn Sulcas, December 16, 2009

External links

Rasta Thomas' website
*
Bad Boys of Dance websiteRasta Thomas, front cover
''movmnt'' (magazine)
Archive footage of Rasta Thomas/BBD performing ''Heartbreak on Repeat'' in 2007 at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Rasta
American male ballet dancers
1981 births
Living people
Dance Theatre of Harlem dancers
Entertainers from San Francisco
Dancers from Washington, D.C.
Dancers from California