Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Isaac Lerner. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Isaac, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you in your creative career?

In 2022, I was asked to step outside of my usual role of choreographer and dancer, and to be the assistant director for Des Moines Metro Opera’s production of Gluck’s A Midsummer Night Dream. I had been working in opera and with the director Chas Rader-Shieber for many years, but this project marked a large shift in how I worked. I was now in charge of rehearsing cover roles, creating the staging bible, and scheduling rehearsals. When preparing for the job, I spoke with my friend Dan Seth, who was one of the best AD’s I had worked with in the past, and he gave me some advice that I have taken with me: “The right note, at the wrong time, is the wrong note.” I learned that especially in collaboration, how you respond and build off of others is incredibly important, and getting your ideas out for the sake of getting them out can be detrimental to the process. You might have the best idea ever, but if you’re going out of your way to say it and interrupt someone’s process, you’re not really collaborating. This advice eventually led to me forming my company, Working Title Dance Theater, as I strive for new and innovative ways to tell stories and collaborate with fellow artists.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am Isaac Martin Lerner, and I am a New York City-based dance artist. I have been lucky enough to tour nationally and internationally with companies such as Kizuna Dance, Dual Rivet, The Bang Group, and Greyzone Dance. I specialize in contemporary floorwork, a virtuosic style of dance that leans heavily into capoeira and acrobatics. I pride myself on sharing this craft with others through teaching at institutions such as Gibney Dance Center, Peridance Center, Steps on Broadway, The Henny Jurriëns Studio, and by holding an adjunct professor position at Adelphi University. I’ve choreographed on large-scale operas with Des Moines Metro Opera and the Curtis Institute across 7 productions, where I spent time honing my choreographic craft. In 2024, I started my company, Working Title Dance Theater. This company is a platform for my choreographic work, which combines theater elements with contemporary dance elements to help create a unique experience for an audience. My work is not meant to give answers but instead invites audiences to witness a night of theater that challenges them to rethink how they interact with the world around them.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Honestly, just share what you do! I use social media to share both my choreographic journey communicate with clients about upcoming classes. Social media is a bear, and everyone hates it, but it’s incredibly useful in creating a line of communication with people you haven’t met. The more often I posted, the more I found people who weren’t in my network that wanted to come take class!

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

After my second year of college, my mentor told me very openly, “If you’re not going to commit to making this your life, you should just stop now” after he had not cast me in next year’s collaboration with the musical theater department. I had always felt like dance was a part of my life, but I don’t think it was a need for me until this moment. I had always told myself I would hate myself if I didn’t go for it and try to make this my career, but I was never open to the possibility that I was wasting my time for what I was “actually” meant to do. I spent the summer in San Francisco training at the San Francisco Conservatory. This question of need vs. want was on my mind, and through days of 8 vigorous hours of training, I found my need. When I returned to school in the fall of my junior year, I had not only made leaps and bounds in my technique, but I had also completely re-worked how I approach the art form and my commitment to it. It was too late for me to be cast in the show, but my teacher took notice and brought me in as an understudy to which I applied myself fully, and went on for a couple of shows after a dancer went out due to injury.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.IsaacMartinLerner.com
• Instagram: @The_Young_Longshadow

Image Credits

Headshot- Jake Kruty
1+2- Sarah Jeffers
3 Julia Decenza
4 Wide Eyed Studio
5- Duane Tinkey
6- Peter Frutkoff