Meet Isabelle Merlo | Professional dancer and Burlesque artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Aprilmay and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Isabelle Merlo, what do you attribute your success to?
I have always been interested in practices that add to my toolbox as a burlesque performer. The desire to develop new abilities complementing what I already had under my belt is what allowed me to attain a high level of skill in many art forms that most people can only achieve in one. The right amount of curiosity humbled me to continue learning through mastery, and gradually revealed my talent in each discipline I took on.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m unique in that I am an accomplished cellist and dancer, and I incorporate both art forms in my burlesque performances. The quality of my performances are also founded by my rigorous dance training, which allows me more technical proficiency, elegance and control and by my musical upbringing, which trained my ear to quickly grasp rhythm and dance to the melodic colors of a song. I’ve won cello competitions in Canada, and I’ve performed in traditional concert dance settings with Dart Dance Company in Berlin, Peridance Contemporary Dance Company in New York City and Zemmour Ballet in Sherbrooke, for example. My unique approach and performance practice have opened up opportunities for me to perform at some of the most prestigious burlesque venues out there, including Prinzipal Kreuzberg in Germany and That’s Amore Burlesque Festival in Italy. I’ve had to become adept at making myself feel at home in different countries, since my work is so international in nature. I have to train in dance constantly, while also staying on top of my game as a cellist. It takes a lot of focus and discipline, but seeing my hard work pay off makes it all worthwhile.
I am most excited about performing at the Montreal Burlesque Festival in October, and I also have a number of opportunities lined up in New York City! I have been working myself to the bone fine tuning my technique in both dance and cello for occasions to come, while continuing to explore my aesthetic and personality within their practice.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend were to visit New York City during the fall, the first thing we’d do is have a pumpkin spice latte in Central Park. I love thrifting, especially in vintage costume stores in Chelsea in the chance of finding one of a kind pieces I can add to my burlesque closet. I love to reconnect with my roots in dance, so we’d then head to Lincoln Center for a fabulous night at the ballet and eat an early dinner at PJ Clarks beforehand. I used to live next to The Juilliard School and go to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts all the time to read about dance, music and get inspired by their history, so Lincoln Square holds a special place in my heart and is perhaps my favorite spot in the city.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I am a firm believer that no artist makes it entirely on their own and it truly takes a village for someone to achieve and maintain a career as a performer. I was lucky to have a mother who was a professional dancer and an aunt who was a cellist. Both of them recognized my talent in each art form and never encouraged me to drop out of one of them for the sake of excelling in the other. I am most appreciative of Diana Loosmore for casting me as the lead dancer in her piece “Kin” that premiered in Montreal and Glasgow. This role literally had me in the spotlight for 20 minutes, and after getting a taste of that, I never wanted to leave it.

Website: https://aprilmayproductions.info

Instagram: bellemerl

Other: gig salad: https://www.gigsalad.com/aprilmay_productions_new_york_city

Image Credits
Esteban Kelso
Giovanni Trinchese
Natalia Sanchez