Exclusive Profiles

Check out the Founders and Directors of Complexions

Dwight Rhoden

DWIGHT RHODEN (Dayton, Ohio) Hailed by the New York Times as "One of the most sought out choreographers of the day," Rhoden began dancing at the age of 17 while studying acting. He has performed with the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Les Ballet Jazz De Montreal and was a principal dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. He has appeared in numerous television specials, documentaries and commercials throughout the United States, Canada and Europe and has been a featured performer on many PBS Great Performances specials. Under Rhoden's direction Complexions has brought it's unique blend of contemporary dance to audiences throughout the world including the United States, Canada, Europe, South America, Australia, and Asia.

Rhoden has created over 60 ballets for Complexions, as well as numerous other companies, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, The Arizona Ballet, The Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Company, Ballet Gamonet, The Dance Theater of Harlem, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, The Joffrey Ballet, Miami City Ballet, New York City Ballet/Diamond Project, North Carolina Dance Theater, The Pennsylvania Ballet, Philadanco, Minneapolis Dance Theater, Phoenix Dance Company, Sacramento Ballet, Oakland Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, The Washington Ballet, and Zenon Dance Company. He has worked with, coached, and created for some of the most diverse artists spanning the world of ballet and contemporary dance. "Rhoden's work is post-Balanchinean choreography, a new aesthetic in movement, stage, picture, and performance concepts reflecting a post-modern, techno-savvy worldview." (Dance Magazine)

Rhoden has lectured and served as "Artist in Residence" at universities around the country. He has directed and choreographed for film, theater, and live performances including E! Entertainment's Tribute to Style and Cirque Du Soleil, and also worked for high profile artists including Prince, Lenny Kravitz, Kelly Clarkson, and Patrick Swayze. Rhoden is a 1998 New York Foundation for the Arts Award Recipient and a 2001 Choo San Goh Award for Choreography Recipient. In May of 2006 he received the Alvin Ailey School's Apex award to celebrate his contribution to the field of dance.

Desmond Richardson

DESMOND RICHARDSON (Queens, NY) Hailed by the New York Times as "one of the great modern dancers of his time," Desmond Richardson is a multi-talented artist who has mastered a wide range of dance forms including classical, modern, and contemporary. Richardson's immense talent was first recognized as a student at New York High School for the Performing Arts during which time he received a merit scholarship from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center (1983-1986) and the International Academie des Tanz in Koln, Germany (1984-1985). He is also a recipient of a Presidential Scholar Award for the Arts (1986). In 1987, Richardson joined the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater where he was a principal dancer for seven years. After leaving the Ailey Company, he traveled to Germany where he performed with Ballet Frankfurt. Richardson has performed as a guest artist with several world-renowned companies including the Swedish Opera Ballet, the Washington Ballet, Teatro at La Scala, and the San Francisco Ballet.

In 1997, he joined the American Ballet Theater where he performed the lead role in the company's world premiere production of Othello. In its description of Richardson's performance in that role, the New York Times described him as "one of the most majestic dancers ever to tread the MET Stage." In 1998, Richardson joined the premiere cast of the Broadway Musical Fosse for which he received a 1999 Tony Award Nomination. He has also appeared on Broadway in the musical, The Look of Love and in the critically acclaimed Movin' Out. He had a principal role in Debbie Allen's dance/theatrical presentation, Soul Possessed, which premiered at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 1999. Richardson has worked in television, film, and video in the United States and abroad. These experiences have allowed him to perform with such musical artists as Michael Jackson, Prince, Aretha Franklin, and Madonna. He is featured in Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi's film, One Last Dance and the Oscar winning Chicago.

He made his singing debut in Charles Randolph Wright's 2005 film, On the One and will appear in Julie Taymor's soon to be released Across the Universe. In 2006, Richardson was featured in the Lincoln Center's Stars of the 21st Century Gala and in the 78th Annual Academy Awards live television presentation. He recently performed the lead role of Beowulf in Julie Taymor's production of Grendel at the LA Opera. This year Richardson was also honored with the Alvin Ailey School's Apex award for his contribution to the field of dance.

Check out Rasta Thomas

Rasta Thomas

Rasta Thomas first danced with the Lar Lubovitch company in 2005. He was born in San Francisco in 1981 and raised in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was evident from the beginning that Rasta was a prodigy with a flair for the stage. He studied at the world-renowned Kirov Academy in Washington D.C. As a teenager, Thomas made dance competition history with honors including the Special Jury Prize from the 1994 Paris International Dance Competition, the Gold Medal in the Junior Men's Division of the 1996 Varna International Ballet Competition, and the Gold Medal in the Senior Men's Division of the Jackson, Mississippi, USA-International Ballet Competition.

In 1995, he became a member of Le Jeune Ballet de France and in 1997, was invited to be a Principal Dancer with the Hartford Ballet. His guest credits include the Russian Imperial Ballet, National Ballet of China, Victor Ullate Ballet of Spain, Inoue Ballet of Japan, Ochi Ballet, Universal Ballet of Korea, Joffrey Ballet, Washington Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, CityDance, and Philadanco. He has been a featured soloist at many galas, including Le Gala Des Etoiles. In 2001 he was the first American to become a member of the Kirov Ballet of St. Petersburg, Russia. In 2003 he joined Dance Theatre of Harlem as its youngest principal dancer. He has danced diverse roles including "Albrecht" in Giselle, "Basilio" in Don Quixote, "Ali" in Le Corsaire and "Death " in Debbie Allen's Soul Possessed.

Television credits include a Bravo documentary in 1997, CBS Breakfast with the Arts, Sesame Street, a featured solo during the 1999 Academy Awards and the Spring 2000 international ad campaign for the GAP. He appears as "Timmy Chambers" in the feature film, One Last Dance, starring Patrick Swayze. He most recently starred in Twyla Tharp's Broadway Hit, Movin' Out. Critics have described his dance style as a mix of Baryshnikov, Bruce Lee, and Michael Jackson, "a force of nature." A multi-talented artist, he spends most of his free time writing songs and scripts.

Check out Kim Olson

Kim Olson Scott Belding, photographer

Kim Olson's work has been presented in independent venues and prestigious international festivals throughout the US, as well as Canada, Trinidad and as part of Dance-Forms Productions International Choreographers' Showcase in Mexico, Japan, Scotland and Guatemala. She has been special feature at International Tanzmesse in Germany. Prior to forming kim olson/sweet edge in 2001, Olson danced in Kentucky with Susana B. Williams and in New York City with the Stephen Petronio Company, where she performed in such events as: Internationale Tanzwochen in Austria, Cannes Festival International de Danse in France, Internationale Gastpiele in der Akademie Der Kunste in Germany, Carlton Festival in Brazil and Dance America Series at the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C. Also in NYC, she worked with Randy Warshaw Dance Company, Open 24 Hours, and Donna Uchizono Company. Olson has been awarded Choreographic Fellowships in Colorado and Kentucky, and has received support from the National Endowment for the Arts por participation in International Tanzmesse 2004. Olson holds a BFA from the Ohio State University and is a member of the Boulder based Mariposa Collective, a multi-disciplinary and experimental artists collective. Her work has been commissioned by : the Links Project, Movement Alliance Dance Company, Ballet Nouveau, Naropa University, Iowa State University, the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art and Dance Company Giesen in Giesen, Germany. Olson has been an invited instructor in numerous venues throughout New York, Colorado, Kentucky and Iowa, as well as abroad in Guatemala, France, Spain, and Scotland. She has also received nominations at the Monaco Dance Forum Nijinsky Awards for "Best Emerging Choreographer," and "Best Female Dancer."

To receive information about these artists, call Dance-Forms Productions at (502) 222-2273 between 9:00 A.M. and 9:00 P.M. Eastern Time

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Greece 2007

Susana B. Williams, photographer