Unbuttoned, Loose and Fabulous With Crowds

Rasta Thomas wants to be a bad boy. At the age of 26, he’s already been a superstar for a decade. From competition winner to gala guest artist, he’s made the rounds of ballet companies, modern dance extravaganzas and films, using his background in martial arts and his dazzling looks and presence to build a career that, as he says, breaks the rules.

   Thomas doesn’t want to join a company and be bound by tradition or politics. He wants to bring dance to the masses, on his own terms, and show what men can do. (Pillow director Ella Baff made the obvious connection with Ted Shawn and his Men Dancers when she agreed to sponsor the program.)

   So Thomas assembled a few other boys and put on a show at Jacob’s Pillow last week. If his intent is to thumb his nose at the dance establishment, he did, in a mild-mannered way — some dropped trousers and a hip-hop number brought laughs, not gasps.

   Just about every piece he presented showed off what hotties his dancers were —  their shirts were always unbuttoned, sleeveless or totally absent, ensuring plenty of looks at bulging pecs and rippling torsos.  But the dances, at least those that were created for this event, were similar in another respect too. Though each was the work of a different choreographer, these dancers used the same mash-up of styles: showy, crowd-pleasing tricks, a gasp-inducing high leap, a Capoeira-inspired flip connected by forgettable filler.

   They were almost all either jokey or melodramatic. “Finding Oz,â€� choreographed by Thomas’ wife and fellow competition whiz-kid Adrienne Caterna, ends with the dancers linking arms and skipping off singing “We’re Off to See the Wizard.â€�  “Heartbreak on Repeat,â€� by Roger C. Jeffrey, sought a more serious tone, giving each dancer a chance to show a soulful, or wistful, or tormented side, (more partly buttoned shirts) to songs like “For All We Knowâ€� and “Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone.â€�  None of the young choreographers seemed to have much skill for moving groups around the stage. The works tended to be series of solos, showing off the skills of each individual dancer.

   And skilled they were.  Thomas is an electrifying performer ­­— matinee-idol handsome (as his Web site reminds us) with grace, power and charisma to burn — and his technique is flawless. His three friends are also fine, but more ordinary. Bennyroyce Royon, a Juilliard graduate, and Bryan Arias, who dances with Complexions, a top-notch New York company, were less able to rise above the pedestrian choreography, but both have solid technique as befits their traditional training. Robbie Nicholson stood out stylistically, for his almost delicate way of moving.

   According to his bio, (and his YouTube clips) Nicholson’s background, which includes a commercial for Kmart, is completely separate from the ballet academy — he won the first (and only) American Dance Idol competition.  

   Guest artists Martin and Facundo Lombardo, a pair of skinny, funny-looking, hip-hopping and tap-dancing twins from Argentina, were bizarre and absolutely compelling. They learned their hip-hop moves from Michael Jackson videos, and their black fedoras, baggy jeans adorned with chains, and snarling expressions were all faintly absurd. But their dancing, especially their tapping, won me over — loose-limbed, confident and rhythmically complex.

   Thomas has said he will wait and see what audiences like before he determines the direction the company will take.  Can a company exist to show off the talents of its dancers, without a leader with a strong artistic vision?  

   If Thomas uses his talent, magnetism and ambition to attract top dancers and choreographers, he may be right that the masses will flock to his product.