Born: 5 April 1923, United States
Died: 25 October 2018
Country most active: United States
Also known as: NA
The following is republished from the Library of Congress. This piece falls under under public domain, as copyright does not apply to “any work of the U.S. Government” where “a work prepared by an officer or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person’s official duties” (See, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 105).
Muriel Manings (1923-2018) received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Brooklyn College in 1945. Her dance training began in the 1940s with the New Dance Group, and she also trained at the Martha Graham School and the Hanya Holm Studio. She performed with the dance companies of Jane Dudley, Sophie Maslow, and William Bales and the New Dance Group during the 1940s to 1960s, and of the twenty-plus dance pieces she choreographed, many were for herself and husband William Korff. In the 1951 season of the New York City Opera Company, Manings danced in The Dybbuk, and in 1954, she appeared as one of the Kids in the Broadway production of Sandhog, both choreographed by Maslow.
She was artistic director of the Repertory Dancers of New Jersey (1969-1971) and the Muriel Manings Dance Company (1968-1972), as well as a guest choreographer and teacher at the Escuela de Artes y Conjunto Moderno in Cuba. In the late 1980s, Manings performed with Dance Theatre Etcetera (DTE), a community-based performance company located in Brooklyn. Considered a master teacher, Manings taught at the New Dance Group Studio, American Dance Festival, Connecticut College, Buck’s Rock Work Camp, and the 92nd Street Y. For many years she was the dance coordinator at Queensborough Community College, CUNY. Manings served on the board of the New Dance Group, was a president of the New York State Dance Association, and served as northeast coordinator for the American College Dance Festival Association. Manings was president of the American Dance Guild from 1992 to 1996. Her essays can be found in Dance Magazine, American Dance, and Choreography and Dance. She also contributed articles to the International Encyclopedia of Dance. Below is a list of her choreography:
1950 In the Evening
1951 Coming Attractions
1952 This Property Is Condemned
1958 Fiesta
1960 The Pretenders
1962 Ruins
1965 Suite
1967 Celebration
1968 Haiku – Set of Fire
American Collage
1969 Winding Sheet
1972 Ing … Ing
Ruins II
1973 Figures
Efformotion
1974 Down Front & Center
Missa Luba
1975 Canyon de Chelley
1976 Echoes
1977 The Great Race
No Commercial Traffic
1978 Short Beach
1979 Crossings
1980 Tableau Vivants
1982 Tides