A recent Washington Post ad cited that Rasta will be a guest in some performances of the upcoming 'Giselle.' Do any of our Washington Ballet friends know when Rasta will be performing? Which role(s)...Albrecht, Peasant pdd, Hilarion?

It's been a dream of mine to finally see this talented young artist in a full-length role & not just 5-minute competition pieces. At long last!

Rasta will be dancing Albrecht for the Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday night performances.
Giselle for those shows will be Michelle Jimenez.

Of interest to DTH fans, Duncan Cooper will do Hilarion on Saturday night.

Another favourite of mine, Jonathan Jordan, will do peasant pdd on Wed., Thurs, Saturday and Albrecht for the Sunday matinee.

And a very young and beautiful dancer, Kara Cooper, will do peasant pdd on Sunday. Watch for her in future.......

Oooooo, Juliet, you've made my day! Thank you.

And mine, too! I had heard about Rasta Thomas. Wasn't sure if size of the ego and the quality of the dancing would pair up. Can't wait to see Washington Ballet dance "Giselle" now. Originally, I thought I would wait until ABT danced same said ballet in the Spring, mostly because I had never seen ABT live. I grew up spoiled with joy by ABT on television, and then opted to seen other companies who did not get the same kind of exposure.

Thanks for starting the inquiry about Mr. Thomas!

Lazer - I'm happy to see that the excitement to see Rasta is growing! I'm going to make a point of attending an upcoming open rehearsal later this week (for subscribers), although I'll refrain from posting 'reviews' until the actual performances, the following week. That's only fair to the dancers.

By the way, as someone who has interacted with Rasta outside the studio, I know that he is a very UN-egotistical person. On the stage, practically every soloist needs to have some sort of ego to succeed...self assurance. Sometimes it's the influence of managers & others who surround an artist, that can leave a bad flavor. It's unfortunate that Rasta may have fallen into that category at one time, although he is young & talented enough to dance above it all, I'm sure.

I'm repeating this, from today's links, as it is an excellent article on Rasta by Jean Battey Lewis, for the Washinton Times. Alas, there's not much pure classical dance in Rasta's immediate future; next chance to see him in a full-evening classical role will be in Cranko's 'Romeo & Juliet,' with the Joffrey.


http://washingtontimes.com/arts/20041022-090902-4021r.htm

I saw Rasta Thomas as Albrecht in "Giselle" with the WSB last Wednesday.

Quite frankly, Mr. Thomas is superb. He deserves every inch of what
he strives to achieve with his dance career. :rolleyes:

Acting = 5 stars from coy to panic to grief and agony
Solos = Flying high with an unbelieveably delivered Act II
Partnering = excellent (as an ice dancer, I can't begin to say enough of how
important good partnering means!)

One of these days, maybe we'll get lucky to see Mr. Thomas partnering
Morgann Rose. I am *so* glad that to see that she has been promoted to
the Company.

~Lazer Canary