I wish I’d taken a photo of Suki Schorer’s collection of gorgeous tango shoes at our cover shoot (DT, Feb 2012), but we did get this great shot of her wearing a pair. I remember very clearly the day we shot the cover images (Feb 2012) of Suki Schorer. The stylish Schorer had brought a number of clothing options into the studio for us to consider—including a row of glittery footwear. “Those are my tango shoes,” she told me. That was when I learned how a few years ago, after her performance career dancing with New York City Ballet under George Balanchine and the important role she has played with the School of American Ballet, she became passionate about the tango. Good story idea, I thought. Then recently we heard from an enthusiastic student (who happens to be blind) about tango instructor Yuyú Herrera, and we knew we had found a compelling way to frame “A Dancer’s Guide to Tango.”
The improvisational aspect of the tango, with its give-and-take between leader and follower, makes me think about relationships in general. The beautiful men on our cover this month have chosen to share not only their personal lives but also their careers. Antonio and Kirven Douthit-Boyd met and married while members of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and when they retired a year ago, together accepted the position of artistic director for dance at the Center for Creative Arts in St. Louis. In their conversation with writer Alice Bloch for “Coming Home,” and a series of photographs taken by Matthew Karas, they appear to be very comfortable with their particular version of the tango.
We’re sure our annual Costume Guide will come in handy for your next tango-inspired choreography—and everything else you’ll need for your year-end recital. And if you’ve been on the ordering end of costuming several dozen dancers, you’ve probably suffered at least one of the meltdowns Rachel Rizzuto describes in “5 Costume Complications, Resolved.” Her solutions can eliminate at least one source of stress from your season.
Photos by Matthew Murphy
