Arlene Croce

Arlene Louise Croce (; May 5, 1934 – December 16, 2024) was an American dance critic. She co-founded Ballet Review magazine in 1965 and served as its first editor. From 1973 to 1996 she was a dance critic for The New Yorker magazine.

Background Croce was born to an Italian-American family in Providence, Rhode Island, on May 5, 1934. She later grew up in Asheville, North Carolina, after her family moved there, and studied at the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina, before graduating from New York's Barnard College in 1955.

Career Prior to Croce's long career as a dance writer, she also wrote film criticism for Film Culture and other magazines. In 1965, she was one of the founders of Ballet Review. she dubbed the work "victim art" and refused to attend any performances, claiming that it was "unreviewable" because Jones featured commentary from actual terminal patients in the performance. The article became highly controversial, with numerous writers and artists publicly defending or rebuking Croce. The article was reprinted in her 2000 book, Writing in the Dark.

Her writings on dance are available in several books, and a sampling of her film criticism can be found in the anthology American Movie Critics: An Anthology From the Silents Until Now.

Death Croce died from complications of a stroke at a care facility in Johnston, Rhode Island, on December 16, 2024, at age 90.