 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.