For this Community Connections project I interviewed Mark Meismer. He is an incredible choreographer in the dance world with a following of 191k on Instagram! Mark has a great passion for his job and his love for it always shines through. I chose to interview him because he is amazing at what he does, due to his dedication and compassion towards others. I have always looked up to him and he inspires me constantly. In the future I am considering being a choreographer but of course in the dance industry it doesn’t come that easy. For that reason I needed someone who was in that position to answer my questions.
Mark is a very well known choreographer, but yet, so incredibly humble. This is one of the main reasons as to why I decided to contact him. I am so glad that I was able to get in touch with him and understand some of the things he goes through and does in his daily life. Mark definitely helped with giving me the inside scoop on what it takes to be successful and how to handle being a professional choreographer/dancer in the dance industry. I asked questions that were meaningful to me so that I would get more knowledge on them (from a personal point of view). Thanks to Mark, I now have a deeper understanding of what it is really like to be in the dance industry and I can better prepare myself for possibly having a career in the area.
I have linked his website and Instagram account, along with his wonderful work. Make sure to go check it out!
https://www.instagram.com/markmeismer/?hl=en
http://www.markmeismer.com/lets_dance/
Mark and I connected using direct message on Instagram. Here are two quick photos of our conversation.
I converted his voice memos into text through MS Word. Here is what Mark answered for all 6 questions.
1. Why are you passionate about your job?
“I’m passionate about my job because I have the best job in the world. I’m able to teach, impact and choreograph on dancers across the country and make a difference, a small difference in their life and in their choice to be a dancer and artist. I feel so lucky and grateful to be able to teach and choreograph around the country (at Nuvo Dance Convention) and meet and connect with all these incredible dancers that then go on to having the most beautiful careers. It feels so special to have a small impact on their life after dancing professionally for 25 years. Now I’m on the other side of things and it’s beautiful to give back and be a teacher and choreographer and shape, mold and educate the future of dance.”
2. What obstacles have you faced to get you where you are today?
“I would say is just the entertainment industry is extremely brutal, extremely competitive and extremely hard. I was very blessed to have a very diverse career in commercial dance in Los Angeles and concert dance in New York City. Also, to be able to work in television and film, and in tours, and to travel around the world/country, all over the US and Europe. I was very lucky, but there is a lot of rejection in the industry. It takes a very passionate and dedicated human to be successful in this industry because with the beautiful successes, come a lot of failures. You have to be very strong and dedicated to your craft to be successful and through the ups and downs and the no’s, (there’s a lot of no’s,) you get a lot of no’s, before you get the yes’s.”
3. What advice would you pass on to someone interested in what you are doing?
“My advice would be follow your heart, stay true to who you are, and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it. It’s pretty simple. For me I have to, I have no choice. Like it’s in my body, it’s in my bones, it’s in my blood, it’s in my soul, to teach, to dance, to create, to choreograph, and I can’t imagine my life without it. You have to have that type of drive and dedication to be successful, so stay true to it. Follow your heart, follow your gut and don’t tell anyone you can’t do it. Persistence is important and you have to have a lot of drive. Stay open, stay honest, train, keep up on your craft and your work, and it will happen over time. You have to be a strong person who really wants it bad and that’s really the advice; don’t ever give up.”
4. Would you be open to further contact from Riverside students and if so, how can someone contact you?
Yes, Mark is easy to contact through Instagram DM (direct message) or email.
5. What kind of experience should I have in order to pursue a career in the dance community?/(What does it take to be successful?)
“You should have endless amounts of training. Never stop training in all genres and styles of dance if you want to be a dancer. You need to train in every style; jazz, hip-hop contemporary, lyrical, ballroom, musical theatre, ballet, technique. Being versatile, being open and being well-rounded as a dancer is super important. You have to take care of your body, take care of your look. You have to make sure that you are presentable and in good shape to be working dancer. You have to know your lane of what your strengths and weaknesses are. You have to stay in classes and in training so that you can then get an agent and start auditioning professionally in the entertainment industry. You can’t audition professionally in the industry without a dance agent. So, you have to get an agent, get headshots, get your look and yourself together so that you are presentable and able to work in the commercial industry.”
6. What is your biggest achievement (in dance) until now?
“My biggest achievement in dance until now is my longevity, I think. A dance job, a dance gig, doing a TV show, doing a movie is not what it’s about. It’s about getting re-hired and being in the industry for years and years and years and building name for yourself that is respected (so that people want to work with you). I’m so grateful to have danced professionally for 25 years, now I’ve been teaching at Nuvo for 14 years, and I taught at another convention for 10 years. Just being able to have a career is longevity, a career is respect. A career is getting directly booked and having people know you and wanting to work with you. This would be because you are a good person, not because you are the most talented, but because they know they can count on you. That’s what I’m mostly proud of; being able to make a life as a dancer, artist, choreographer, teacher.”
I am so grateful to have had Mark communicate with me and answer the questions above. It was a pleasure chatting with him.
Big thanks to you Mark, you are such an inspiration! I sincerely thank you for your time and willingness to answer my questions.
Resources for photos and videos:
Thank you so much for this interview. Turned out awesome. I really appreciate it.
Much love
Mark Meismer
Thank you for submitting your Community Connection assignment for COL. We have reviewed your Edublogs post, and have the following observations regarding your work:
– Great job interviewing someone and seeking out information regarding their expertise
– Way to incorporate your answers on your Edublogs portfolio
– Great job converting the voice memos to text
– Thanks for going the extra mile on this assignment. This is a great example of a connection!
Thank you,
Mr. Robinson and Mr. Barazzuol
COL Teachers