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“In Swan Lake, [Sara Mearns] is the world’s foremost interpreter of the double role of Odette/Odile of the last 20 years.” -The New York Times, June 30, 2013 Boca Ballet Theatre’s Swan Lake to Feature New York City Ballet Principal Dancer Sara Mearns BOCA RATON, FL – Boca Ballet Theatre is thrilled to continue to bring the highest caliber of guest artists to our community. We are excited to announce that Sara Mearns, a principal dancer with New York City Ballet, will guest star in Swan Lake as the double role of Odette/Odile - the evil black swan and the lovely white swan. Boca Ballet Theatre’s lavish production is staged after the original choreography of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, and set to the music of Peter Tchaikovsky. Mearns will be joining guest artist Simon Ball, a principal dancer with Houston Ballet, dancing the enchanting role of Prince Siegfried. We are proud to welcome Ms. Mearns to our stage, and are equally thrilled that Mr. Ball will return to our stage after charming audiences as Romeo in 2013's Romeo and Juliet. Sara Mearns is one of today’s most internationally celebrated dancers in classical ballet. She has performed featured roles in beloved ballets such as Firebird, The Nutcracker, Symphony in C, and Jewels (Emeralds and Diamonds), amongst countless others. Two of her signature roles for which she has received repeated critical acclaim are the Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty and the well-known swan queen in Swan Lake, for which New York City Ballet Artistic Director Peter Martins first chose her to perform the role while she was still in the corps de ballet at the age of 19. At the age of 13, Mearns trained with Patricia McBride at Dance Place, the School of North Carolina Dance Theatre, in Charlotte. She continued her studies at age 14 with Stanislav Issaev at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities in Greenville. Mearns entered the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, full time in the fall of 2001. By the fall of 2003, Mearns became an apprentice with New York City Ballet. As an apprentice, Mearns danced a featured role in Michel Fokine’s Chopiniana, performed by SAB as part of New York City Ballet’s winter 2004 season. In June of 2004, Mearns joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet and was promoted to the rank of soloist in March of 2006. In June 2008, Mearns was promoted to principal dancer. “Sara is one of the most important dancers of her generation.” -Christopher Wheeldon, Dance Magazine, 2012 Considered one of the most famous of classical ballets, Swan Lake continues to mesmerize audiences after more than 100 years, while also inspiring new generations of dancers. This is a hauntingly beautiful performance that you will not want to miss! Swan Lake Performances Friday, August 1 @ 7pm Saturday, August 2 @ 8pm Sunday, August 3 @ 2pm Tickets: $20 - $35 for adults and $10 - $25 for children and seniors. Performance Venue: Olympic Heights Performing Arts Theater, 20101 Lyons Rd., Boca Raton, 33429 To purchase tickets: please visit http://bocaballet.org/box-office/ or call 561.995.0709. About Boca Ballet Theatre: Established in 1990, BBT is a nonprofit, award-winning civic ballet company that trains dance students, entertains audiences, and inspires the community through successful outreach programs. Under the guidance of Co-Artistic Directors Dan Guin and Jane Tyree, the mission is to enrich the cultural landscape of our community and educate its youth in classical ballet and concert dance through focused training, interaction with professional dancers and participation in full-length ballets and contemporary choreography. Please call 561.995.0709 or visit www.bocaballet.org for more information.