Arnie Zane

Arnie Zane (1948–1988) was born in the Bronx and educated at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Binghamton. In 1971, Arnie Zane and Bill T. Jones began their long collaboration in choreography and in 1973 formed the American Dance Asylum in Binghamton with Lois Welk. Zane was the recipient of a Creative Artists Public Service (CAPS) Fellowship for Choreography in 1981 (he had previously received a CAPS Fellowship in 1973 for photography), as well as two Choreographic Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (1983 and 1984). In 1980, Zane was co-recipient, with Bill T. Jones, of the German Critics Award for his work, Blauvelt Mountain. The pair received a 1985-86 New York Dance and Performance (“Bessie”) Award for Choreographer/Creator for their work Freedom of Information. Rotary Action, a duet between Zane and Jones, was filmed for television, co-produced by WGBH-TV Boston and Channel 4 in London.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater commissioned a new work from Zane and Jones in 1985 titled How to Walk an Elephant. Zane passed away in 1988 due to an AIDS-related illness. Continuous Replay: The Photographs of Arnie Zane was published by MIT Press in April 1999.