Thomas moved to New York City and joined the Dance Theatre of Harlem (under the tutelage Mitchell) in what would prove to be their last season. Instead of signing to another company, Thomas, in an unconventional move, decided to become a guest dancer. While Thomas was dining with choreographer Vladimir Angelov, a friend told Thomas that he was wasting his talent by only performing at galas. Angelov agreed, remarking that excellent danseurs are expected to belong to premier companies. Shortly after their dinner, Angelov introduced Thomas to Gerhard Rieder, who presents the Kirov Ballet in Europe, who in turn introduced Rasta to the Kirov's company manager, Makharbek Vaziev. Rieder invited Thomas to perform in Kirov's February 2001 three-hour gala in St. Petersburg, but on such short notice, Thomas only had a week to train with the company and he was worked in only one hour before the show began. He performed a dance Angelov choreographed to "Flight of the Bumblebee," to rave reviews, including from Valery Gergiev, artistic director of the Kirov Ballet and Opera. Vaziev invited Thomas to residency with the ballet and a stipend of $150 a month while granting him freedom accept independent work; Thomas declined due to a filming commitment in the movie "Without a Word", so Vaziev extended his invitation to the fall. Though Thomas enjoyed the filming experience he realized his dancing career was finite. He decided to dance for six months in Russia with the Kirov Ballet. Rasta moved to St. Petersburg as the first American to become a member of the Kirov in October 2001. While there, he most notably danced as "Swan Lake's" Jester, "Carmen's" bullfighter, and "Le jeune homme et la mort's" Young Man. Due to the companies internal politics Thomas became disenchanted and moved back to Maryland to February 2002. The following October, he carried the torch and performed in the opening ceremonies of USAIBC.