MOVE TV - Rasta Thomas - Videos

FOR HIGH DEFINITION: Press Play Above,Change from 360p to 720HD Rasta Thomas shares with MOVE, some of his inside truths about life... Rasta received his dance training from the age of twelve at The Kirov Academy of Ballet, in Washington, D.C., and also studied at Washington School of Ballet. Thomas' father would take his son to see all the great ballet companies that would perform at the Kennedy Center for the Arts. His father would then ask dancers if they would grant his son classes, and they often obliged. At age 13, Thomas trained under Dawei Zhange at the Maryland Youth Ballet; of Zhang, Thomas said "The technique I learned from him is the blueprint that's allowed me to have a career." At 13 he become the youngest person ever to receive the Jury Prize at the 1994 Paris International Dance Competition. Although he was enrolled at Kirov in time for the 1996 Varna International Ballet Competition, the school had a policy of only sending dancers sure to win the gold. So Thomas represented the Seiskaya School of Ballet of New York instead and Gerald Arpino, Arthur Mitchell and Debbie Allen sponsored him at a cost of $30,000. At the age of 15, he was awarded the Junior Gold Medal at the event, becoming the youngest ever to win...