When Principal Dancer with New York City Ballet Sara Mearns performs, she goes for broke, thus earning the nickname "Stage Animal" from famed choreographer Alexei Ratmansky. The star ballerina shares how she found the bravery to advocate for herself as a student at School of American Ballet, climbing the ranks to become a principal ballerina, and the advice Suzanne Farrell gave her to best prepare for performances. Sara explains how she has learned to maintain her physical and mental health, and her insatiable curiosity to explore modern and contemporary dance, thus earning herself another nickname from Alicia.

Check out Sara Mearns on Instagram, YouTube, or at New York City Ballet.

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The Moving Moments theme song was composed by Saul Guanipa for Videohelper.

Moving Moments was co-created by Alicia Graf Mack, Jessica Handelman, and David Krauss. 

This interview has been edited and condensed to fit the time format.

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