Yes…after much ado and a lot of requests, today Rasta Thomas called me and gave me a 30-minute interview on the subject of how boys can prepare for a summer ballet intensive. I had written to him several weeks ago, but he hadn’t yet responded; he and I have spoken before, because I interviewed him for the book I’m writing on how to mentor boys who want to become professional dancers. Seems he was on the phone with Debbie Allen today, and she told him to call me! I had sent a pleading email to her on Monday asking if one of her ballet teachers would write the post for me. I guess no one says no to “Mamma D,” as he called her. So, I got the interview. Thanks Debbie and Rasta!
I’ve got a deadline to meet by tomorrow afternoon, but I’ll try to get the tape transcribed by tomorrow night at the latest and post the interview. It should be great!
If you don’t know who Rasta Thomas is, you should! He’s got a superb company called “Bad Boys of Dance” and he’s an internationally acclaimed and award winning ballet dancer. However, he does way more than ballet these days. A most accomplished classical and contemporary dancer, martial artist, gymnast and director, Rasta is an undeniably watchable, cutting edge performer who continues to push his artistry in new directions. Jennifer Dunning of the New York Times has said, “Look out world, Rasta Thomas has arrived!” and Alexander Dube, formerly of Hurok Concerts, has said that “Rasta Thomas is one of the most gifted and versatile artists of his generation.” Julian and I saw him perform as Eddie in the national tour of the Twyla Tharp/Bill Joel hit musical Movin Out.
If that’s not enough, Rasta will do anything to help foster boys in dance. So, hopefully this upcoming interview with him won’t be the only one you find here. Until then….your can read more on Rasta here.
Leave a Reply