RASTA ROCKS THE BALLET

Direct from New York and following on from sell out seasons in Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna and Frankfurt comes Rasta Thomas’ Rock the Ballet starring the Bad Boys of Dance. Rock the Ballet is a fusion of classic Ballet technique blended with the excitement of musical theatre, hip hop, ballet, tap, contemporary, gymnastics and more.
Rasta Thomas’ Rock the Ballet features a stellar soundtrack including some of the biggest hits from U2, Michael Jackson, Prince, Queen, Coldplay and Lenny Kravitz. Set against a backdrop of video projected scenery, the show is exciting, fun, fleshy, raunchy powerful, and brilliantly entertaining.
DanceLife caught up with Rasta and Resident Choroegrapher Adrienne Canterna-Thomas to chat about the show.
Rasta Thomas – Founder, Director & Principal Dancer
You created Rock the Ballet in 2008. What was it about a group of boys fusing together ballet, hip hop and musical theatre that you thought was a mixture for success?
I was hoping it would be a success, but honestly, I had no idea it would hit people the way it has! I just wanted to shake things up in the dance world & put something on the stage that made people happy. I want ROCK the Ballet to keep inspiring people & to always ignite their love of music & movement.
The show has been travelling around the world and doing extremely well. Did you plan for this at the beginning and what lessons have you learnt from the businesses side of creating and pitching a show?
I’m always surprised by the success of RTB because we’re all just a bunch of friends on stage having a good time! As for the business side if things, I am constantly learning. I have more work than ever before & learning how to juggle my home life, my stage life & the business side of things is definitely a challenge. But I’m always grateful and up for it, because the more work I have means that people are loving the show! Always try to think outside the box & make it work!
Adrienne Canterna-Thomas – Resident Choreographer
As resident choreographer you are responsible for creating a huge amount of choreography in an array of styles for males. What challenges have you come up against during the show creation process?
First off, creating for Rasta & my boys is a huge honor & a job I truly am blessed to have. I’d have to say when it comes to challenges I’ve faced during our creative process, it really comes down to the question of, “what should we keep”? I create so much material for the boys & I want to use all of it but every step needs to fit perfectly & ultimately stuff gets cut. But we always put every step on DVD so that when we’re creating our next show we can look back.
Rock The Ballet opens on 1st June in Melbourne before travelling to Gold Coast, Canberra, Sydney, Brisbane, Darwin and Perth. Visit their website for more details www.rocktheballet.com.au