Isabella Merola holds a BFA in Dance from Montclair State University. She began dancing at 3 years old at various studios. As a young dancer she attended Princeton Ballet School summer intensives and trained at Centerstage Dance and Theater School. Isabella also attended Middlesex County Magnet School for dance under the instruction of Cleo Mack. After graduating high school, Isabella went on to attend Montclair State University as a dance major, and there she performed works by Camille A. Brown, Kyle Abraham, Maleek Washington, Stefanie Batten Bland, and Bradley Shelver, among many others. She graduated from Montclair as a member of the National Dance Honors Society. She has also attended intensives with Medhi Walerski at Orsolina, Whim W’Him, GALLIM, Doug Varone and Dancers, and Earl Mosley’s Institute of the Arts. As a professional freelance dancer she has performed at festivals such as DUMBO Dance Festival, ACDA, Montclair Dance Festival, NYU Choreolab, Koresh Artists Showcase, Hoboken Dance Festival, and the Bessie Awards. Outside of dance, she is also a certified mat pilates instructor.
Isabella is very passionate about dance education and choreography, and strives to create a safe and positive learning environment for her students. She’s very excited to teach this upcoming season and share her love for dance with OBD! re and viable career path for young dancers!