The stage was sheathed in a cloak of purple smoke, that coated the dancer's skin as they whirled their way across the black floor. Smuin Ballet was doing a final run through of their piece Tango Palace at the Palace of Fine Arts last week, in preparation for opening night, and I was there to snap a few photos of those final moments of rehearsal on 9/23/2011.

The dance piece, which is supposed to invoke “the brothel, the barrio, and the barroom,” mixed classic tango with hints of ballet, just along the fringes of the dancer's dresses. The dancer's strong, sculpted bodies moved with each beat to create a theatrical sense of old-time tango, whose Argentinian roots were brimming with passion and romance, and quite a bit of naughtiness.

Here's a video from earlier this year of the company in rehearsal:

SMUIN BALLET

Through Oct 1, various times and prices

Palace of Fine Arts

www.smuinballet.org