Michael Thomas

Dancer and choreographer Michael Leon Thomas is a former dancer with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Complexions Contemporary Dance Company, and the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company. A native of Dillon, South Carolina, Michael began his professional career with dance legend Judith Jamison in her company The Jamison Project.  

In Judith Jamison’s Emmy Award-winning PBS special, Thomas was featured in A Hymn for Alvin Ailey, performing a solo to his own words as interpreted by award-winning, celebrated actress and playwright Anna Deavere Smith. Thomas was featured in Lar Lubovitch’s critically acclaimed production of Men’s Stories, and danced principal roles with Zvi Gotheiner & Dancers, Dance Brazil, Donald Byrd/ The Group, and the Complexions Contemporary Ballet.

Along with two other former Ailey dancers, Elizabeth Roxas and Karine Plantadit, Thomas formed RhythMEK, which received rave reviews for their company premiere at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, as well as at performances for Prospect Park’s Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival, LMCC’s Evening Stars at the World Trade Center, and the Telluride Dance Festival in Colorado. Thomas' solo project, Motion Theater Lab, enjoyed premieres at City College’s Aaron Davis Hall and City Parks SummerStage.

Thomas' choreographic commissions include ballets for The University of North Carolina School of the Arts, The Cape Town Dance Company, The Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, Long Island University (Brooklyn and Post campuses), Encuentro Internacional de Danza in Madrid, Spain, The Ailey School, Marymount Manhattan College, The Beijing Dance Academy, and DanceworX in Mumbai, India. 


Thomas served as the program director for Complexions Contemporary Ballet’s dance intensives in New York for six years. He teaches for Ailey Arts In Education & Community Programs and served as co-director of AileyCamp New York and as AileyCamp’s national deputy director. Thomas was taught Horton and contemporary at Hunter College, Marymount Manhattan College, The Ailey School, Ailey Extension, and dance festivals and schools in the United States and abroad. 


Thomas resumed his work with Anna Deavere Smith as her movement coach for her one-woman shows Let Me Down Easy, On Grace, and Notes From the Field, which aired as an HBO special in 2018. Michael has been a key teacher with Ms. Smith at NYU Tisch School of the Arts in her classes at the Department of Performance Studies.

Michael is now carving a unique path in Broadway general management, seamlessly blending his artistic background with the rigorous demands of the business side of theater. He received his BFA in dance from North Carolina School of Arts, where he received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence.  

In every role, whether on stage or in management, Michael Leon Thomas brings a deep passion for the arts and a commitment to excellence, reflecting a profound understanding of what it takes to create art that resonates with audiences and stands the test of time.