5 Things We Learned from "city.ballet." Season 2, Episode 4

Season 2 of “city.ballet.”—the AOL On series that gives an insider’s look at New York City Ballet—is live now! We’re recapping one episode per week. Watch all 12 at dancemagazine.com.

In Episode 4 of “city.ballet.” we meet the newest dance power couple: Sara Mearns and Josh Bergasse. She’s a New York City Ballet principal, he’s the Broadway choreographer behind On the Town—it’s almost like a true-life Romeo and Juliet (minus the whole dueling families and death stuff). Are you a fan of cute rom-coms? You’ll love this one. Here are five things we learn in the ep:

1.
Mearns spent eight months off recuperating from a very serious back injury. But watch out, ballet world: She says she feels stronger, freer and more confident in her dancing than she did before her injury. (And she looks simply amazing, too.)

Sara Mearns and Chase Finlay rehearsing George Balanchine’s Mozartiana. Photo courtesy AOL ON

2. In the last year, things have moved pretty fast for Mearns.
She started dating Bergasse, the two moved into a pretty great apartment together (um, hello, view!) and everything’s going swimmingly.

3. It
is possible to date a dancer. Mearns explains what makes it work: “He’s in the dance world, but not in my dance world.” That. Makes. So. Much. Sense.

She’s even gorgeous simply drinking coffee on her couch.

4. When you date a choreographer, he’ll make ballets for you.
We see Bergasse creating a piece for the Dancers Responding to AIDS Fire Island Dance Festival starring none other than his main squeeze. It’s full of old-school musical theater kicks, lifts and flips.

Mearns in Ratmansky’s Pictures at an Exhibition (photo by Paul Kolnik, courtesy NYCB)

5.
There may be the pitter-patter of little feet (and not the tap dancing kind) in the NYCB studios someday. Mearns spills the beans on camera: She totally wants to get married and have a family with Bergasse. Oh, what’s that? He might not know that yet? Well, now he does. (And from what we’ve seen of this couple’s relationship, we doubt he minds.)

Click the image below to watch the full episode!