MICHELE MEROLA graduated from the Associazione Balletto Classico directed by Liliana Cosi and Marinel Stefanescu in Reggio Emilia; he then worked as a dancer with the companies Aterballetto, Arena di Verona, Toulon Opera House, and Fabula Saltica in Rovigo.

Today, he is the artistic director and principal choreographer of the MM Contemporary Dance Company, a contemporary dance company he founded in 1999. With it, he has staged, both in Italy and abroad, many choreographies, including Mattanza (winner of the 17th International Choreographic Competition of Hannover, 2003), La Capinera (Best Choreography Award, Serbia 2007 and at the Purgatorije Festival in Tivat, Montenegro 2007), La metà dell’ombra (Anita Bucchi Prize, Italy 2010), Con le labbra dipinte (premiere at the Seoul International Dance Festival Sidance 2010, Korea), Narciso (2012), Bolero (2015 – Europaindanza Award 2017), Pulcinella (2016), Gershwin Suite (2018), Vivaldi umane passioni (2019), Pastorale (2020), Balada (2021), Short Stories (2022).

Since 2000, Michele Merola has also created numerous works for other companies, including Aterballetto (2001, Reggio Emilia), Teatro S. Carlo (2003, Naples), Dominic Walsh Dance Theatre (2007, USA), Teatro Massimo in Palermo (2008), Balletto di Toscana (2009, Florence), Terazijama Theatre in Belgrade (2007–2010, Serbia), Tanzcompagnie Landesbühnen Sachsen in Dresden (2018, Germany), Teatro dell’Opera di Roma (2021). Over the years, he has also created several choreographies for operas: most recently in 2021 for Maria de Buenos Aires by Astor Piazzolla, performed by MMCDC, produced by Ravenna Festival and Teatro Comunale di Ferrara; in 2022 for Il Trovatore at Teatro Regio di Parma and Mefistofele at Teatro Comunale di Modena.

In 2008, he won the Positano Leonide Massine Prize for the Art of Dance, and in 2010 MMCDC received the Danza&Danza Award as the best emerging Italian company. In 2016, he won the GD Awards 2016 (giornaledelladanza.com) as Best Italian Choreographer.

In 2017, MMCDC received the Europaindanza Award – Choreography Merit Prize for Bolero, choreographed by Michele Merola. That same year, Merola also won the L’Abella Danza Prize at the Roman Amphitheater of Avella (AV).

In 2018, Merola was awarded the Incontro con la danza Prize, established by Basilicata ArteDanza, “for having succeeded in creating a company of international reference, enhancing dancers thanks to the excellence of his choreographic art.”

In 2019, Merola received the Metti le ali al Talento Prize for his career and the artistic direction of MMCDC.

In 2022, MMCDC won the Danza&Danza Award for Best Italian Production with the performance Ballade (chor. Mauro Bigonzetti, Enrico Morelli).

In 2024, MMCDC received the Danza&Danza Award for Repertoire Valorization for the performance Grosse Fugue by Maguy Marin.

Since 2010, Michele Merola has been, together with Enrico Morelli, the artistic director of Agora Coaching Project, a professional training program for dancers based in Reggio Emilia.