Ronne Arnold (1938 – 13 February 2020),^[1] also credited asRonnie Arnold, was an African American performer whose Australian-based career spanned some seven decades and encompassed various genres. He was a dancer, choreographer, tutor, singer and actor and dance company founder.^[2]

Arnold was born inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania in 1938. He was trained in jazz traditions by his family, and his first dance teacher,Nadia Chilkovsky Nahumck, taught him American classical, modern, primitive and Hindu dance styles^[1] at thePhiladelphia Dance Academy.^[3] In 1959, he graduated with a Bachelor of Music majoring in dance from theUniversity of the Arts.^[4]

In 1960, Arnold joined the touring cast ofWest Side Story forGarnet Carroll in Australia, and before he returned to the United States, he was offered a role in musicalThe Most Happy Fella, after which he decided to remain in Australia permanently. He became a renowned teacher of jazz and modern dance, and choreographed dance sequences for Sydney's Chequers nightclub, as well performing as the Leading Player in the 1974 Australian production ofPippin and appearing withCarlotta in a production ofCinderella as the evil stepmother at theSydney Opera House.^[5][6] He was founder and artistic director of the Contemporary Dance Company of Australia from 1967 to 1972, and academic course director at theNational Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association from 1986 to 2003. After completing a master's degree at theUniversity of Sydney, he began teaching at theWesley Institute.^[3]

In August 2013, Arnold was awarded the lifetime achievement award at theAustralian Dance Awards.^[7] He also worked as a television actor, appearing in recurring roles onNumber 96 andHoliday Island.^[2]

Arnold died on 13 February 2020, aged 81 or 82, at Blue Mountains Hospital inKatoomba, New South Wales.^[8]

• Ronne Arnold atIMDb

• 1938 births
• 2020 deaths
• 20th-century American dancers
• American emigrants to Australia
• American choreographers
• African-American male dancers
• American male dancers
• African-American choreographers
• African-American male actors
• University of the Arts (Philadelphia) alumni
• University of Sydney alumni
• 20th-century African-American people
• 21st-century African-American people

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• Short description matches Wikidata
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