Renée Arnold is a respected Middle Eastern dance performer and instructor now residing in Honolulu, Hawaii, where she performed weekly for 14 years at Pyramids, the premier Egyptian restaurant in town. She currently performs at Kan Zaman Moroccan and Lebanese restaurant and appears frequently at international festivals, private parties and educational venues. She teaches private lessons in Egyptian and Lebanese Cabaret style of belly dance, stressing freedom of expression and improvisation. She holds an M.A. in French and teaches courses at Kapi’olani Community College, which is nestled at the foot of the picturesque Diamond Head.

Renée is a well-trained, multi-talented artist with diverse interests. She began studying Middle Eastern dance as a teenager in El Paso, Texas. She learned the basics of the art form from Zourna of San Francisco and made her professional debut at El Paso’s Executive Center Hotel, where Zourna had introduced the cabaret style of belly dance. Renée became a featured dancer at the hotel after Zourna left town for greener pastures. Renée found greener pastures herself a short time later. She lived and danced professionally in Paris for more than a year, performing at several of the city’s most popular Middle Eastern restaurants and clubs, including the famous El Djazair nightclub in the bustling Latin Quarter. She accepted professional engagements in other European cities too, including a month-long stint at London's Blue Angel Club (which burned down shortly after Renée left!). Renée left Europe to pursue an acting career in Los Angeles, where she studied at the well-known Loft Studio with the likes of Angelica Houston, Michelle Pheiffer and other well-known actors. At the same time, she became a regularly featured performer in local Middle Eastern nightclubs and restaurants. In the course of a decade, she performed in more than two dozen venues in Los Angeles, including legendary places like Ali Baba’s, The Seventh Veil, The Fez, Marrakesh, Port of Athens, Athenian Gardens, Byblos, and Cabaret Tehran. Her work environment was representative of every country in the Middle East, from Algeria to Turkey and beyond!

Renée has studied with some of the great dancers in the business, including Ibrahim Farrah, Mahmoud Reda, Vivianne of Lebanon, Dahlena, Aisha Ali, Feiruz, Marta Schill, and Marie Silva. She also studied Flamenco with the late Lupe del Rio (who danced with the legendary José Greco), and for one year with Roberto Amarral. She has performed with many great dancers too, such as Aisha Ali, Helena, Feiruz, Marie Silva, Rebaba, Jacqueline, Malika, Shira and Sahra, and with accomplished musicians from across the Middle East. She remains close to many of these artists.

In addition to her nightclub and restaurant work, Renée has appeared in numerous films, commercials, television dramas, game shows, talk shows, radio shows and music videos. She participated in the Opening Ceremony of the 23^rd Summer Olympics, has been a member of the Screen Actors Guild, and recently served on the SAG Nominating Committee. She has also developed a summer study abroad program in the south of France as well as a new course in French film and literature.

She has been serving as Secretary of Middle Eastern Dance Artists of Hawaii (MEDAH) since 2009.