DiscoverThe Grace & Form PodcastSara Mearns: Dancing Beyond Expectation, through Burnout and Hearing Loss
Sara Mearns: Dancing Beyond Expectation, through Burnout and Hearing Loss

Sara Mearns: Dancing Beyond Expectation, through Burnout and Hearing Loss

Update: 2025-05-12
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In this episode, Principal Dancer Sara Mearns joins us for a raw and wide-ranging conversation about how life onstage has shifted, and how she’s shifted with it. She shares the reality of living with hearing loss for over a decade, what it was like to finally hear her own solo again, and how that moment marked a turning point. We talk about burnout, boundaries, mental health, body maintenance, saying no, and unlearning perfectionism. She opens up about returning to roles like Swan Lake, navigating long-term creative partnerships, her cross-training routine, and the evolving pressure to choreograph in the age of social media. Through it all, Sara reflects on what it means to keep growing: as an artist, a collaborator, and a person, and why rediscovering your worth beyond ballet might be the most powerful performance of all.


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Sara Mearns: Dancing Beyond Expectation, through Burnout and Hearing Loss

Sara Mearns: Dancing Beyond Expectation, through Burnout and Hearing Loss

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