Sara Ann Mearns (born 19 January 1986) is an American

ballet dancer A ballet dancer is a person who practices the Art (skill), art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. B ...

. She is a

principal dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be either gender. The position is similar to that of ''Soloist (ballet), solois ...

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's fir ...

Early life

Mearns was born in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

. Her mother is a nurse. At age three, she began dancing with Ann Brodie at the Calvert-Brodie School of Dance, also in Columbia. Mearns trained with

Patricia McBride Patricia McBride (born August 23, 1942) is a ballerina who spent nearly 30 years dancing with the New York City Ballet. McBride joined the New York City Ballet in 1959. She became a principal in 1961, becoming the company's youngest principal. ...

at the School of North Carolina Dance Theatre, at age 13, and at South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities the following year. In 2001, Mearns relocated to New York to train at the

School of American Ballet The School of American Ballet (SAB) is the associate school of the New York City Ballet, a ballet company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. The school trains students from the age of six, with professional voc ...

Career

In 2003, Mearns became an apprentice with New York City Ballet. She was nominated for a Princess Grace Award and received the Mae L. Wien Awards that year. She became a member of the corps de ballet the following year. In 2006, at age 19 and while she was still in the corps, she was chosen to dance Odette/Odile in ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoje ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, links=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failu ...

''. Later that year, she was promoted to the rank of soloist, and to principal dancer two years later. She was nominated for a

Prix Benois de la Danse The Benois de la Danse is a ballet competition held annually in Moscow. Founded by the International Dance Association in 1991, it takes place each year on or around April 29 and it's judged by a jury. The members of this jury change every year and ...

in 2012. She was nominated for a

Bessie Awards The New York Dance and Performance Awards, also known as the Bessie Awards, are awarded annually for exceptional achievement by independent dance artists presenting their work in New York City. The broad categories of the awards are: choreography, ...

in 2014 and was awarded one in 2018. She has danced classical roles such as the Lilac Fairy in '' The Sleeping Beauty'',

Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers of the 20th-century. Sty ...

works such as '' La Valse'', '' Symphony in C'', ''

Serenade In music, a serenade (; also sometimes called a serenata, from the Italian) is a musical composition or performance delivered in honour of someone or something. Serenades are typically calm, light pieces of music. The term comes from the Ital ...

'' and '' Walpurgisnacht Ballet '', as well as contemporary pieces such as

Alexei Ratmansky Alexei Osipovich Ratmansky (, born August 27, 1968) is a Russian-Ukrainian-American choreographer and former ballet dancer. From 2004 to 2008 he was the director of the Moscow Bolshoi Ballet. He left Russia in 2008. In 2009 he was appointed the ar ...

's ''Concerto DSCH'' and Justin Peck's ''Rotunda''. In 2013 Mearns starred in ''A Dancer's Dream'', a

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

production choreographed by

Karole Armitage Karole Armitage (born March 3, 1954) is an American dancer and choreographer currently based in New York City. She is artistic director of Armitage Gone! Dance, a contemporary dance company that performs several times annually in New York City as ...

and conducted by Alan Gilbert, which was broadcast nationally. In 2015 she made her Broadway debut in the "Lonely Town" pas de deux from the Tony-nominated musical '' On the Town'', choreographed by Joshua Bergasse. She has also collaborated with the modern dance choreographer Jodi Melnick, resulting in the piece performed at the

Guggenheim Museum The Guggenheim Museums are a group of museums in different parts of the world established (or proposed to be established) by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Museums in this group include: * The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, Ne ...

in November 2016. In 2017, Mearns performed the role of Victoria Page in

Matthew Bourne Sir Matthew Christopher Bourne (born 13 January 1960) is a British choreographer. His productions contain many classic cinema and popular culture references and draw thematic inspiration from musicals, film noir and popular culture. Popular ...

's '' The Red Shoes'' in

New York City Center New York City Center (previously known as the Mecca Temple, City Center of Music and Drama, and the New York City Center 55th Street Theater) is a performing arts center at 131 West 55th Street (Manhattan), 55th Street between Sixth Avenue, Six ...

Selected repertoire

Mearns' repertoire with the New York City Ballet includes:

Personal life

In November 2012, Mearns met Joshua Bergasse when she was auditioning for a featured dancing role on '' Smash''. The dance number was cut, but the two started dating a few months later. After five years of dating, they got engaged on Valentine's Day. They were married on November 3, 2018, in Sunset Beach, North Carolina. Because Bergasse is a choreographer, they collaborate on each other's projects. They have also worked on projects together since their marriage such as Rodgers and Hart's ''I Married an Angel'' and a dance piece starring Mearns at the Fire Island Dance Festival. The couple divorced in 2024.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mearns, Sara New York City Ballet principal dancers Mae L. Wien Award recipients School of American Ballet alumni Living people 1986 births People from Columbia, South Carolina Dancers from South Carolina 21st-century American ballet dancers American prima ballerinas 21st-century American women