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.
MM CONTEMPORARY DANCE COMPANY
The MM Contemporary Dance Company, directed by choreographer Michele Merola, was founded in 1999 as a production center for performances and events and as a promoter of festivals and workshops aimed at fostering exchange between Italian and international artists.
Based in Reggio Emilia, the company’s repertoire is rich and diverse, including works by Michele Merola and creations by European and Italian choreographers such as Maguy Marin, Mats Ek, Mauro Bigonzetti, Thomas Noone, Gustavo Ramírez Sansano, Karl Alfred Schreiner, Silvia Gribaudi, Eugenio Scigliano, Emanuele Soavi, Enrico Morelli, Daniele Ninarello, Ginevra Panzetti & Enrico Ticconi, Roberto Tedesco, Camilla Monga, and Adriano Bolognino.
In 2010, MMCDC received the Danza&Danza Award for Best Emerging Company and today stands as one of the leading contemporary dance companies in Italy, with an extensive national touring activity and growing international presence (including Korea, Colombia, Canada, Germany, Russia, Morocco, Belgium, Spain, Slovenia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Sweden, France, Finland, Serbia, Norway, and Croatia).
The company received the Europaindanza Award (2017) for Merola’s Bolero, the Danza&Danza Award for Best Italian Production (2022) for Ballade, and the Danza&Danza Award for Repertoire Enhancement (2024) for Maguy Marin’s Grosse Fugue.
MMCDC has also appeared on RAI 1 in Roberto Bolle’s programs Danza con me and Viva la danza.
The company is supported by the Italian Ministry of Culture, the Emilia-Romagna Region, the Municipality of Reggio Emilia, and Centro Permanente Danza – Reggio Emilia.
