Dance historian and curator recognized for scholarship on artistic radicalism, visuality and public culture
Ninotchka D. Bennahum has been named the Arnhold Chair in Dance Studies in the Department of Theater and Dance at UC Santa Barbara. This endowed chair is a key component of the establishment of the Arnhold Arts and Humanities Commons.
A dance historian and museum curator, Bennahum studies the political and philosophical nature of artistic radicalism. Her research and pedagogy center on a politics of inclusion with a focus on visuality and public culture.
Bennahum is the author and editor of numerous volumes, including “Border Crossings: Exile and American Modern Dance, 1900 – 1955,” “Carmelita Maracci’s Latine Neoclassicism,” “Antonia Mercé, ‘La Argentina’: Flamenco and the Spanish Avant-Garde” and “Carmen, a Gypsy Geography.”
Her work also includes “100 Years of Flamenco on the New York Stage,” “Flamenco on the Global Stage,” “Jennifer Muller and the Transformation of American Modern Dance, 1944 - Present,” “The Living Dance” and “Radical Bodies: Anna Halprin, Simone Forti, and Yvonne Rainer in California and New York, 1955 – 1972.”
The former resident dance scholar for the American Ballet Theatre in New York City, Bennahum recently co-curated the exhibition “Dance to Belong: 150 Years of Dance History at 92NY.”
About the Donors
Jody Gottfried Arnhold is a luminary in dance education and an advocate for the art form. She taught dance in New York City public schools for more than 20 years, founded Dance Education Laboratory at 92Y and created the Arnhold Graduate Dance Education Program at Hunter College. She also supports the dance program at the New York City Department of Education and is the visionary benefactor behind the doctorate in dance education at Teachers College, Columbia University.
John Arnhold is founder and managing member of Arnhold LLC, a registered investment advisor. He retired as chairman and chief investment officer of First Eagle Investment Management. John received a Bachelor of Arts in English from UC Santa Barbara in 1975. He became a trustee of the UC Santa Barbara Foundation in 2012 and served as board chair from 2022 to 2024.