Yehudit Arnon (15 October 1926 – 17 August 2013) was an

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

dancer and

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

Biography

Yehudit Arnon was born on 15 October 1926 in Komárno, Czechoslovakia to Ludwig Schischa-Halevy and Elisabeth (Betty) Hoffmann. On 11 June 1944 Arnon and her parents were sent to

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

. Upon arriving, she requested to stay with her sickly mother but instead was sent with the other young people to the Birkenau camp while her mother was sent to the gas chambers. She escaped the concentration camp in May 1945 when the Red Army arrived. After escaping, she reached Budapest and began teaching dance. There, she met Yedidya Ahronfeld, whom she married on 16 June 1946. The couple moved to

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

in 1948, settling in Kibbutz Ga’aton, Israel where she lived until her death. Arnon established the

Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company (KCDC) is an acclaimed dance company founded in 1970 by the Israel Prize laureate Yehudit Arnon, who was its Artistic Director until 1996. In 1980, the choreographer Rami Be'er joined the company and since then ...

(KCDC) in 1970. She served as the

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

until 1996. "In June 1997, Arnon received the Distinguished Artist Award of the International Society for the Performing Arts in recognition of her extraordinary contributions of creative talent and

inspiration Inspiration, inspire, or inspired often refers to: * Artistic inspiration, sudden creativity in artistic production * Biblical inspiration, the doctrine in Judeo-Christian theology concerned with the divine origin of the Bible * Creative inspirat ...

to the world of dance". Arnon was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

in 1998 which is Israel's highest award for her achievements in education and the performing arts during her lifetime. Yehudit Arnon died on 17 August 2013, at 87 years of age.

References

External links

Holocaust Survivor Testimony: Yehudit Arnon, 4 April 2012
Israeli female dancers Israeli dancers Israeli choreographers Auschwitz concentration camp survivors Israel Prize in dancing recipients Czechoslovak emigrants to Israel Kibbutzniks People from Komárno 1926 births 2013 deaths {{dance-bio-stub