Australia Dancing - Arnold, Ronne (1938

Arnold, Ronne (1938 - )

Born in Philadelphia, USA, Ronne Arnold studied dance at the Philadelphia Dance Academy, where he attended classes in classical, modern, primitive, and Hindu dancing. He also attended the Philadelphia Musical Academy, from which he gained a B.A. in music, majoring in dance.

Arnold first came to Australia for Garnet Carroll in 1960 to appear in the musical West Side Story. He appeared in musicals and dance productions throughout the 1960s and 1970s and into the 1980s and has taught jazz dance for many schools and organisations since 1961. In 1967 he founded the Australian Contemporary Dance Company, later the Contemporary Dance Company of Australia, and directed and choreographed for this company until 1972. Arnold choreographed a number of works for the company including I've got Rythm, New Blues with Jacqui Carroll, Boy with Umbrella, Feeling Good, and Song of Hagar to music by John Antill.

Arnold's involvement in Indigenous Australian dance has included research into the dances of the Wanam people of Cape York Peninsula culminating in his M.A. thesis A structural analysis of two dance idioms: the Wanam (Cape York Peninsula) and black jazz dance. He was also dance co-ordinator for Bangarra Dance Theatre's tour to Indonesia in 1991.

Since 1986 Arnold has taught in various capacities at National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA), including academic course director. He finished working at NAISDA in 2003.

See also: Bangarra Dance Theatre

Research Materials

Ephemera | Manuscript | Moving picture | Oral history | All

The Birth of the Waratah, 1965 (Moving picture): Choreography: Beth Dean; Music: John Antill; Cast: Beth Dean, Ronne Arnold, Jeffrey Kovel, Tony Deary, Ken Mansfield, Bruno Harvey, Alex Vale, Ross Hutchison, Julia Taperell, Jeanette Whitttaker; VHS videocassette, produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation; black and white, sound, PAL, 15 mins; Is part of: Dreaming Time Legends: G'day Digger (Title no: 371018); The birth of the waratah as recounted in the legends of the Aboriginal people of the Burragorang Valley, NSW. This shortened version for television was prepared by the choreographer from a longer work presented as part of the Pageant of Nationhood staged for the visit to Australia of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh in 1963.; Dean, Beth ; Antill, John; Location:; The Keep Dancing! Collection; National Film and Sound Archive; Segment title no: 371031

The First Boomerang, 1965 (Moving picture): Choreography: Beth Dean; Music: John Antill; Cast: Beth Dean, Ronne Arnold, Jeffrey Kovel, Bruno Harvey, Ross Hutchison, Julia Taperell, Jeanette Whitttaker; VHS videocassette, produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation; black and white, sound, PAL, 15 mins; Is part of: Dreaming Time Legends: G'day Digger (Title no: 371018); The creation of the first boomerang as recounted in the legends of the Aboriginal people of the Burragorang Valley, NSW. This shortened version for television was prepared by the choreographer from a longer work presented as part of the Pageant of Nationhood staged for the visit to Australia of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh in 1963.; Dean, Beth ; Antill, John; Location:; The Keep Dancing! Collection; National Film and Sound Archive; Segment title no: 371030

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Other resources

Find more about Arnold, Ronne in:

Internet - Google
Articles - New York Public Library Dance Collection
Pictures - Picture Australia