As part of the leadup to our 150th season in 28/29, UMS is commissioning new works across several artistic disciplines. The first of these features a new, evening-length dance collaboration with New York City Ballet principal dancer Sara Mearns and co-choreographers and dancers Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber, whose Obsidian was performed by Ballet BC in October 2025. This new piece will be developed on the U-M campus in June 2026, with the world premiere in October.

While Ann Arbor audiences may remember Smith and Schraiber as performers with the Batsheva Dance Company, they return now as world-renowned creators whose choreography has been commissioned by The Paris Opera Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, and Martha Graham Dance Company, to name a few. Sara Mearns, who The New York Times has described as a “go-for-broke dancer,” began studying dance at age 13 in South Carolina and entered the School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet, in 2001. She joined the company a few years later and was promoted to soloist in 2006 and principal dancer in 2008.

This UMS commission and world premiere will be set for six dancers, with live music performed by two pianists.