Rasta Thomas was born on July 18,1981, in San Francisco, California, and raised in Washington, DC His parents were both physicians and traveled widely, often taking their son with them.
21 Facts About Rasta Thomas
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Rasta Thomas began Taekwondo lessons at the age of three, enrolled by his father.
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Rasta Thomas entered the commercial competition circuit, winning StarQuest, Showbiz, and Star Power dance contests.
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Rasta Thomas later pursued aspirations of becoming an action-movie star while working as an etoile at the Paris Opera Ballet.
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Rasta Thomas received his dance training from the age of twelve at The Kirov Academy of Ballet, in Washington, DC, and studied at the Washington School of Ballet.
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At the 1998 USA International Ballet Competition, Rasta Thomas won the gold medal, a scholarship, and a cash prize in the senior men's division.
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Rasta Thomas won the gold medal, and at 16 years old became the youngest to win in the senior division, beating Mikhail Baryshnikov's previous record age of 18.
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Rasta 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.
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Rasta Thomas moved to New York City and joined the Dance Theater of Harlem in what would prove to be their final season.
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Rieder invited Rasta Thomas to perform in Kirov's February 2001 three-hour gala in St Petersburg.
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Rasta Thomas performed a dance Angelov choreographed to "Flight of the Bumblebee," receiving positive reviews, including from Valery Gergiev, artistic director of the Kirov Ballet and Opera.
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Rasta Thomas 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.
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Rasta Thomas danced in the ABT at the Metropolitan Opera House as a guest artist in a Lar Lubovitch production of Othello.
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Rasta Thomas played the role of Timmy in Patrick Swayze's 2005 DVD One Last Dance.
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In 2005, Rasta Thomas performed a solo in Lar Lubovitch's US debut of Elemental Brubeck.
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Rasta Thomas was featured on the winter 2006 cover of movmnt magazine.
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Rasta Thomas choreographed and performed a well-received "stand-alone acrobatic ballet solo" for "Poetry in New York," a flamenco musical by Rafael Amargo.
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In late 2008, Rasta 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.
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The Dancer Within Rasta Thomas was interviewed for the book The Dancer Within: Intimate Conversations with Great Dancers by Rose Eichenbaum, a collection of interviews with prominent dancers.
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In 2007, Rasta Thomas founded the Bad Boys of Dance company.
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Rasta Thomas has one daughter, Anami Halo Ramacandra and was married to his long time dance partner, Adrienne Canterna.