Check Out Robert Mero Canevari’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Robert Mero Canevari.

Robert Mero, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I grew up surrounded by the arts. My parents weren’t active in them; but had a deep appreciation nevertheless, and I grew up routinely attending theatre, concerts, ballets, and art museums! I eventually became active in the arts myself; starting with creative writing and theatre around age twelve. The classics are what drew me in – a love affair that remains ongoing to this very day! At age sixteen, I took my first dance class, and that same year dove into serious study of jazz, ballet, and modern dance technique. I attended the Nevada City Ballet Academy concurrently with my high school the year after, and after graduation, attended Chico State University majoring in Musical Theatre. After college, I attended the Holt Ballet Conservatory, later joining the northern California modern dance company “The Movement Alliance” as their classical artist in residence. I remained with them until the opportunity to move to LA fell into my lap! I have been here since the winter of 2013, dancing, choreographing, learning about the film industry, and of course, writing! My first book, an original poetry collection “As Wounds Love Salt” debuted last year; with my second book forthcoming this winter! I am about 200 pages into the manuscript for my third book; so “busy” has been at the top of my vocabulary as of late!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Writing and publishing has been smooth – an experience I know is rare and am all the more thankful for! Dance on the other hand-has been filled with mountains and valleys. I am quite short for a dancer specializing in ballet; have had some gigs, lost out on others due to strict height requirements that of course were attached to the dream roles. I have learned to be patient and hone my skills so that my individual ability – technique, physicality, musicality, and stage presence – have become absolutely undeniable.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I have been in the dancing game for so long; I feel myself naturally evolving into more choreography and directing. I still audition when I feel the vibe is right; and am wondrously thankful that the majority of my dance work has been via invitation/offers from those who have seen me perform elsewhere. It feels good to have that kind of trust placed on oneself when you don’t have to audition, but there’s still a pressure to deliver a quality that’s exceptional. As I get older, I find the concept of determining what that quality should be: as a director and/or choreographer – how it should be achieved, what the process should be leading up to the final product – more appealing each day! I am most proud of my resilience, my stamina. Patience does not come to me naturally, so all my powers of personal restraint and self persuasion have been called upon and deployed into action.

In terms of my work itself, what sets me apart is I am completely unconcerned with trend, trope, or modernity. I have a classical background and strive to maintain that flavor in all I do artistically!

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Risks are important! Stagnancy is death to the artist, to the very principle of creativity; yet risk without imagination is foolishness. Even if there isn’t an immediately identifiable risk; there are always positive and negative consequences, and imagination is key to being able to power through should an unprecedented risk go awry. The most recent “risk” [I might even use the word ‘gamble’] I took was for my first book. I decided to leave each of the individual poems nameless and untitled. My reasoning was this: when you name something, you give identity, you bestow purpose. Even if all the ambiguities and simplicity that language has to offer have been employed, a poem with a title is still a statement. Of course my poems have purpose, or if they are absurdist, abstract, and nonsensical – to be read purposefully within such genres…but to name them would still be requiring the reader to so name them as I have. Let the reader name what the poem ought to be for themselves! My words are analog – right there on the page. I gambled, I risked; that my poetry’s potency would be heightened if readers dove in and gave an unspoken, almost internalized identity to what they’ve read in a way that they would best respond/relate to. I think that risk has been paying off! Many readers have reached out and have spoken with me much about the same poems. Sometimes there is overlap in their personal takeaway, but each experience has been ultimately unique for them, and therefore, for me as well, and I couldn’t be more honored!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @robbie_mero