Artistic Director/Founder
Rasta Thomas was born in San Francisco, California in 1981 and raised in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Rasta studied at the world-renowned Kirov Academy in Washington D.C. As a teenager, Rasta made dance competition history with honors including the Special Jury Prize from the 1994 Paris International Dance Competition, the Gold Medal in the Junior Men's Division from the 1996 Varna International Ballet Competition, and the Gold Medal in the Senior Men's Division from the Jackson, MS USA-IBC. In 1995, he became a member of Le Jeune Ballet de France and in 1997, was invited to be a Principal Dancer with the Hartford Ballet. Some of his guest credits include American Ballet Theatre, Victor Ullate Ballet of Spain, National Ballet of China, Joffrey Ballet, Lines Contemporary Ballet, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company and Pacific Northwest Ballet. In 2001, Rasta was the first American to become a member of the Kirov Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia and then in 2003 he joined Dance Theatre of Harlem as a Principal. Rasta has danced diverse roles from "Albrecht" in Giselle, "Basilio" in Don Quixote, "Ali" in Le Corsaire, to classic works by Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Debbie Allen, Ulysses Dove and Jerry Mitchell. Rasta has been in several TV documentaries, performed at the Academy Awards, was a featured dancer in an international ad campaign for GAP, and appeared in the feature film, "One Last Dance", starring Patrick Swayze. He has performed at the White House for the President of the United States and opened for Aretha Franklin at Harlem's famous "Apollo Theater". In 2005, Rasta starred on Broadway in Twyla Tharp's hit musical, "Movin' Out". In 2007, Rasta performed as a guest artist in "Othello" in the title role with American Ballet Theatre for their Met season. Rasta is the founding director of "Bad Boys of Dance" and in 2008 he created Rasta Thomas' "Rock The Ballet" with his wife Adrienne Canterna. www.rastathomas.com
Associate Artistic Director/ Resident Choreographer
Adrienne Canterna
26 year old Kirov Academy of Ballet scholarship graduate Adrienne Canterna is the recipient of
numerous national and international awards including the
1998 Women's Junior Gold Medal at the USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi. Other prestigious awards include winning the title of "Teen Miss Dance of America" and the "Grishko Award of Excellence in Ballet." Adrienne has traveled extensively throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Carribean. As a Principal guest ballerina she danced the roles of Gamzatti in "La Bayadere", the Sugar Plum Fairy in "The Nutcracker", and Kitri in "Don Quixote" with the Universal Ballet in Seoul, Korea. She has also danced with the Washington Ballet and Complexions Contemporary Ballet. She has appeared in numerous galas including the prestigious "Les Gala des Etoiles" where she performed "Le Corsaire" pas de deux with international ballet star, Carlos Acosta. She appeared as a soloist in "Placido Domingo, Tribute to the Washington Opera," performing to "Stars and Stripes" in a segment directed and choreographed by Debbie Allen, airing on PBS. In 2002, she formed American Dance Artists, a company of nationally and internationally acclaimed young dancers. Adrienne travels the world as a dancer, master teacher, choreographer and judge. She can be seen as a ballet soloist in the motion picture "Step up". Adrienne is the Associate Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer of Rasta Thomas' "Bad Boys of Dance" and Artistic Director of "Pretty Girls of Dance".
Interview with Rasta Thomas
