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Rita Kohn
Performance Reviews
Ballet
Modern/Contemporary
The Palladium
United States
Indiana
Carmel, IN

Bad Boys of Dance's Program Lives up to Hype

by Rita Kohn
November 3, 2011
The Palladium
The Center for the Performing Arts
355 City Center Drive
Carmel, IN 46032
317-843-3800
This review was originally published in NUVO Newsweekly, Indianapolis, IN.

Rita Kohn is a member of the Board of the Dance Critics Association.
Rasta Thomas gained renown as the winner of dance competitions as a teenager. He went on to dance leading roles as a guest artist in ballet companies worldwide. With the founding of Bad Boys of Dance in 2007, Thomas created a program emphasizing individual versatility within a corps setting with the intention of inviting audience members to interact with the attitudes on stage. This distinctive dance language moves you to move in your seat, unless you happen to be in a box where you are free to shake it, writhe, jump and bounce, as was the case for some audience members at The Palladium. The cast of two female dancers (who appear courtesy of "Pretty Girls of Dance") and six males (sans Mr. Thomas himself) gave 110% during the program entitled Bad Boys 4 Life's two diverse acts with choreography attributed to Adrienne Canterna-Thomas and Rasta Thomas.

Act I, "Beautiful Day", weaved in and out of the relationship between the lead dancers — Adrienne Canterna-Thomas cunningly on pointe and a barefoot, fire-breathing, Shane Ohmer along with engrossing subtext and supple vigor supplied by James Boyd, Ryan Carlson Lee Gumbs, Brandt Martinez and Tim Olson who were in non-stop, "don't-know-what-they-can-do-to-top-that" movement and combinations.

The soundtrack for Act I included songs by U2, Black Eyed Peas, Lenny Kravitz, Dave Matthews Band, Journey and Jacques Brel. A section set to Maria Callas' singing from "Carmen" was a showstopper with its sensual innuendo.

Music by Michael Jackson, Prince and Queen drove the action for Act II, "Rock You", a slice-of-life glimpse of people on the run that featured dancer Alicia Whitehead-Canterna.

The performance lived up to the hype. Yes, they're "sexy, athletic, entertaining and fun."
Cast of Bad Boys of Dance

Cast of Bad Boys of Dance

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