The first time Sara Mearns stepped into a studio with Jamar Roberts, she knew they were cut from the same dance cloth. “We both had the same energy of, ‘What are we doing?’”
Last summer, Mearns was cast in a work by Roberts at Vail Dance Festival, where both were artists in residence. Their humor aligned. They were dance lovers and dance sufferers! Their energy picked up.
Mearns, 39, a longtime principal at New York City Ballet, and Roberts, 42, a choreographer who spent years as a leading dancer at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, are devoted to dance. But they’re not rah-rah about it every second of the day. They know its pain.
At Vail, Mearns was pondering what to do for her Artists at the Center program, which opens Thursday at New York City Center. After working with Roberts, she said she knew: “This is it.”
The resulting collaboration, “Dance Is a Mother,” with choreography by Roberts and music by Caroline Shaw, pairs Mearns with a stellar cast: the former Ailey dancers Jeroboam Bozeman and Ghrai DeVore-Stokes; and Anna Greenberg, who Roberts met at Miami City Ballet. The surprise is that Roberts is dancing in it too, but that makes sense given the context: The work is a love letter to dance. And for both Roberts and Mearns, it’s testament to a life spent pursuing it.
“I think we have very similar feelings about dance and our careers, our relationship to dance,” Roberts said. “It’s sort of this love-hate thing, at least for me.”
“Dance Is a Mother” is a reminder of why they fell for dance in the first place. The program’s other work, “Don’t Go Home” — conceived by Mearns, the choreographer Guillaume Côté and the writer Jonathon Young — is a foray into dance theater that depicts the struggle a dancer goes through while preparing for a role. “They couldn’t be more opposite if they tried,” Mearns said of the two works on the program.
Recently Mearns and Roberts joined up for a video interview about their shared sensibilities, their time working together and why dance is the mother you love to hate. Or is it hate to love? In either case, here are edited excerpts from that conversation.
So how is dance a mother?
ROBERTS Dance nurtures, and it’s grown me up so much, from the time I entered the professional space at 18 until now. It teaches you the hard lessons. Dance mothers you, and sometimes you just hate her, but no matter what, you love her. You’re kind of stuck with her forever.
How did this collaboration start?
MEARNS We met in a park, and he asked me: “What do you want to feel when you go out there? What head space are you going to be in when you go out onstage? What do you want to look like?” I had never been asked those questions before about a piece. I almost didn’t know how to answer. But it started this conversation about how we feel at this point in our careers.
In what way?
MEARNS We’ve both had very long careers and been through a lot: a lot of baggage, a lot of ups and downs, a lot of pain — but a lot of great things too. We started talking about that love and joy that we had when we were 10 years old. Is that still there? Only people at this stage would understand that or be able to answer that question or not answer that question. So I thought that was a very cool way of going in to make a piece.
Jamar, how did you want the dance to feel?
ROBERTS I remember agreeing that we wanted to make a slow piece. Because everything is just mad turbo these days, myself and my work included. And I wanted it to feature Sara in the way that she felt the most comfortable. When we were at the park she said, “I don’t have to be the first one onstage.” It’s probably something that I would say if somebody was choreographing a piece for me. I wanted it to feel like each dancer’s contribution was equal for the most part. Even though the piece is for the audience, I wanted it to feel like a glorified dance studio.
MEARNS But if this is slow to him, I don’t even want to know what fast movement is.
ROBERTS Listen, I said it would be a good challenge.
Part of this experience is being able to dance with others on equal terms?
MEARNS I think I did want to have a communal situation, because I don’t really get to have that. Even if I’m part of a bigger piece, it’s usually, Sara, this is your movement. I’m not saying there’s anything bad about that, but I miss dancing in a group. This is a very close group of five people that are dancing together and that are on the same train, going the same place at the same rate.
Jamar, why did you want to be in the piece?
ROBERTS That’s kind of a deep question. Loaded. Choreography was feeding me in a certain way when I first started, and over time the honeymoon phase wears off, and so the question of purpose came into play. Not so much purpose in the grand sense, but a daily sort of purpose. The nearest thing that gave me that same sort of satisfaction or gratification was dance.
How did you announce your plan?
ROBERTS I said to Sara, “What would you think if I danced in the show?” I was a little concerned only because I was like, It’s Sara’s show. Sara’s a thing. I’m a thing. And I didn’t want to be up there taking the shine away from Sara. Tell her what you said, Sara.
MEARNS I sent back an entire text of exclamation points. I had been waiting for this moment. I was like, I can’t ask him to be in it. I just can’t do that to him because I don’t think he’s in that place anymore and I’m not going to force it.
How is it going? Are you finding that satisfaction from dancing?
ROBERTS I don’t really need the stage and the lights and the audience to get what I need from dance. So, yes.
It’s tough having to divide myself between the dance maker and the dancer. But I think it’s reminded me of a certain power that you get from being able to will your body into doing things. It’s a strange ego booster. It’s an interesting little tool that dancers have.
Do you relate to that?
MEARNS Oh yes. That’s what I mean when we both walk in the studio the same way. I feel like we both have that feeling of, “I don’t know if this is going to happen today.” And then you get into the rehearsal vibe and you start learning steps and then you get into this groove. It’s this unbelievable feeling. No one else can do that for me. I have to get there.
It was much easier to get to the top, to get to this place many years ago. But then to consistently come back every single day and do it?
Have you been able to return to that place of why you started dancing in the first place?
ROBERTS I have. The love has always been there, even when I’m not performing. I don’t think it’ll ever go away.
MEARNS I was told once that I was an anomaly because of how I feel about dance. I don’t feel this way about anything else in my life. And sometimes that has shut me off from the world. That has made me feel alone or lonely or not like anybody else. But I wouldn’t have it any other way, because this is what I’ve dedicated my life to.
