In the historic scenario of Payró Theaterfounded by his father, the remembered actor and director Onofre Loveroan intimate moment opens with her daughter, Maria. In the year of the centenary of the birth of those who left an indelible mark on the Argentine scene, the dancer transmits in each word the echo of an endenerly familiar inheritance.
Born in Buenos Aires at the beginning of the nineties, she grew up in a home crossed by artistic sensibility. His father, passionate about theater and opera, and his mother, forensic psychologist and sculptor. His first memory linked to dance is a visit to Colón Theaterwhere he saw Paloma Herrera in “Romeo and Julieta.” “It was the moment I fell in love forever,” he says with the certainty of having made his destiny dance.
It was formed at the Higher Institute of Art of Columbus and, at 15, already shone as a soloist and main in the company of Iñaki Urlezaga. Then he integrated the Argentine ballet of Julio Bocca under the direction of Lidia Segni, and later, he consolidated in the ballet of Santiago de la Opera Nacional de Chile, where for more than 14 years he interprets roles of soloist and first dancer.
The talk with news is held in the same Payró, theater that his father raised in 1952 with a group of friends. “There is a communication with my dad that is still alive every time I apartment a stage,” he confesses.
News: He arrived very young to Santiago, Chile to join the national ballet. How was that beginning far from Argentina?
María Lovero: I arrived with just 18 years, after auditioning and being selected. It was a huge step because it meant moving from the country, although I was chosen knowing that I was two hours from my family’s plane. The first months I lived with friends, then I rented an apartment and thus I was throwing roots. Although we are sister countries, I recognize that uprooting is hard. Idiosyncrasy are very different. But what sustained me was to know that I was doing what I loved, dance in a wonderful theater, with first level productions, live orchestra and a stable body; Near my country.
News: What offered the Santiago ballet?
Lovero: First, institutional stability that at that time was difficult to find in Argentina. The theater never suspended functions, except for a fire, not even the 2010 earthquake interrupted our season, because when we returned on vacation everything was resolved. In addition, working under the direction of Marcia Haydée was an immense privilege. When I arrived, she was as director of the ballet, she hired me and it was the one who gave me the opportunity to dance roles of great responsibility. At that time were the Argentines Marcela Goicoechea and Luis Ortigosa, and sharing the stage with them was motivating. Chile allowed me to develop as a solo dancer, assume protagonists and grow with the peace of mind that every year would have challenging repertoires and a faithful audience that fills the room.
News: Was Europe never in your plans?
Lovero: Yes, I danced a year there, in 2023, in the National Ballet of the Czech Republic and was fascinating. The company was very international, there were dancers from different countries and diversity enriched work. The repertoire was divided into classic and contemporary, which demanded enormous versatility. I felt very respected, they gave me prominent roles and the atmosphere was generous. They even offered to stay as the first dancer, an immense temptation, but after thinking a lot, I chose to return to Chile. There I had already built a path of more than a decade and close to my family in Argentina. Europe I love, I don’t close doors, but I heard my intuition, I needed to return to the place I felt as a home.
News: The myth of fierce competition among the dancers is true?
Lovero: Yes and no. I was lucky to be in spaces where the human group has been mostly good. I do not say that I did not pass experiences of unfair competition, but it was not common in my career. In Santiago’s ballet, the human group is excellent. That does not mean that in other companies it is the same, surely in European or even in Russia, competition must be very strong. I listened to cases like that they put ground glass on the tip shoes of the most competitive dancers, but I never lived it. That is why the movie “The Black Swan” I don’t like, because it shows a reality that is not such. Everything happens to that girl that may happen in the world of dance in the centuries of the centuries and it is not. Not everyone travels that suffering and those pathologies in the profession. Being elite dancer is sacrificed, but it also takes with great happiness.
News: His dad, Onofre Lovero, left an indelible mark on Argentine culture. How does that legacy live today?
Lovero: My dad died ten years ago, but accompanies me every day. He was an actor, director, Regisseur del Colón, founder of the Payró Theater and president of Artistic Foundations. The most valuable thing I inherited from him is not only his career, but his way of living art with nobility of heart and unwavering values. He greeted with the same love a director as a goalkeeper or someone from the cleaning staff. That transversality in the deal marked me forever. He never imposed a path, I just wanted me to be happy. And I think he is calm, because I am. His teachings guide me. I work with the same passion, the same respect and, I believe, with the same humility with which he did it, and above all, with the certainty of understanding that art transforms.
News: He was born literally in a theatrical home.
Lovero: Yes, I was born at home, accompanied by a midwife and doctors, at noon of a day when my father had a general essay. That same night, after the rehearsal, the entire cast came to meet me. Imagine, I with hours of life, passed from arm in arm, among actors, directors, artists. And as the doctor knew my parents, please asked me to stay at least 48 hours. But the next day, my mother took me to the premiere of the work “I am not Rappaport.” That mother and that father have. So it is logical that it comes out like this. I never missed an essay, a work, I never suspended anything. I grew between essays, premieres and dressing rooms. Although everyone thought he would be an actress, from a very young age he replied: “Atriz no, Dance.”
News: Remember why that feeling so defined being so girl?
Lovero: I remember very clearly the first time I saw “Romeo and Julieta” in the Columbus, being a girl. He caught me completely. It was not a light ballet like “Nutcraco” or “Coppélia”, it was a drama, and that fascinated me. I asked my parents to take me to dance classes, and they showed me different artistic disciplines. There was a total opening in my house, I painted, I did workshops, I tried everything, but what made me vibrate was dance. Over time I understood that it was not just about moving the body, but about offering it to a character, to a story. That interpretive part is still passionate and, perhaps one day, it also takes me towards the performance.
News: In his training he appointed the Colón Theater and Julio Bocca. What do these dance icons mean for you?
Lovero: The Columbus is my formative house, a place I always return with love. I studied there and lived moments of enormous intensity. I also trained in the study of Julio Bocca, where I worked with great figures such as Eleonora Cassano and Hernán Piquín. Having shared the stage with Iñaki Urlezaga in my adolescence was also a huge honor. They all marked my way. With the Columbus, I also have a very strong emotional connection because my dad was Regisseur and we were always going. He greeted everyone with a paternal love and everyone greeted me, like Onofre’s daughter.
