Michele Merola studied at the Association of Classical Ballet, with Liliana Cosi and Marinel Stefanescu in Reggio Emilia, and then worked as a dancer in Aterballetto, Toulon Opera House, and the Verona Arena. He is currently the artistic director of MM Contemporary Dance Company, founded in 1999, and has created many choreographies for MMCDC, for shows both in Italy and abroad. Since 2000 Merola has also created new works for many other companies: Aterballetto, Teatro San Carlo – Naples, Dominic Walsh Dance Theatre, Teatro Massimo – Palermo, Junior Balletto di Toscana, Teatro Nazionale – Belgrad, Tanzcompagnie Landesbühnen Sachsen – Dresden.
In 2003 Merola won the Hannover International Competition for Choreographers, in 2008 the Premio Positano Leonide Massine per l ‘Arte della Danza, in 2016 the Giornale della Danza Award as Best Italian Choreographer and in 2018 the Premio Incontro con la Danza from Basilicata ArteDanza. Since 2010 Michele Merola and Enrico Morelli have been the artistic directors of the Agora Coaching Project – Reggio Emilia, an advanced training program for dancers.
